Precautions for Obesity Medication Users Before Endoscopy: Increased Risk of Aspiration Pneumonia Identified

If an endoscopy is planned, you should stop using obesity medications early. Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen/Getty Image Bank.

It appears that people who use injectable obesity medications or diabetes medications should stop using the medications before endoscopy. This is because it has been confirmed to increase the risk of aspiration pneumonia.

The research group of Ali Rezai, a gastroenterologist from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the United States, published the research results on the 27th in the international journal “Gastroenterology”, showing that popular treatments for obesity can cause complications during procedures medical.

The research team found that the use of drugs based on “glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists” such as “Ozempic” and “Wegobi”, popular drugs for the treatment of obesity and diabetes from the pharmaceutical company Danish Novo Nordisk, are associated with an increased risk of aspiration pneumonia after endoscopy, I confirmed the point.

Aspiration pneumonia is a disease in which inflammation of the lungs occurs when foreign substances, such as food in the stomach or secretions from the mouth and nose, are aspirated into the lungs. Generally, recovery occurs within 1 to 2 weeks with appropriate treatment. However, patients with weak immune systems or chronic diseases may develop complications, so caution is needed.

The research team analyzed data from approximately 1 million unidentified US patients who underwent upper or lower endoscopic procedures between January 2018 and December 2020. As a result, patients who were prescribed obesity medications were more likely 33% more likely to develop aspiration pneumonia than patients who were not prescribed obesity medications. The research team obtained these results by adjusting for other variables that can influence pneumonia.

One reason obesity drugs produce a weight-loss effect is because they slow down digestion. As the feeling of satiety lasts longer, the amount of food consumed decreases. Slow digestion means that food stays in the stomach for a long time. Generally, when having an endoscopy, the hospital recommends fasting for a certain period of time, but when using obesity medications, the stomach may not be completely emptied within that time.

If an endoscopy is performed with contents remaining in the stomach, some of the contents may pass into the lungs, increasing the risk of pneumonia. “Aspiration that occurs during or after an endoscopy can be fatal,” said Dr. Rezai, “can lead to respiratory failure, admission to the intensive care unit, and even death.”

He added: “Even if it is not serious, measures such as close monitoring, provision of oxygen and antibiotic treatment may be necessary.”

To reduce the incidence of aspiration pneumonia due to endoscopy, it was believed that guidelines for patients using anti-obesity drugs would be needed. The explanation is that if the use of anti-obesity drugs is stopped early, it will be possible to significantly reduce the number of cases of aspiration damage. The research team said: “It may be necessary to stop using obesity drugs at least a few days beforehand” and urged: “If you plan to have an endoscopy, communicate well with the hospital in advance.” .

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