GLP-1 and dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonists are relatively new and high-profile classes of medicines that are used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or obesity.
Medicines in these classes currently marketed in Australia include:
- Ozempic (semaglutide), Trulicity (dulaglutide) and Victoza (liraglutide), which are approved for the management of adults with diabetes.
- Saxenda (liraglutide) and Wegovy (semaglutide), which are approved for chronic weight management in patients who are obese or overweight.
- Mounjaro (tirzepatide) which is approved for both diabetes and chronic weight management.
There is a known potential for all these medicines to delay passage of food through the stomach (gastric emptying).
This poses a potential risk for patients during general anaesthesia or deep sedation as the usual fasting period beforehand may not be sufficient to empty the stomach.
We have required updates to Product Information (PI) and Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) documents for all these medicines with a warning about the risk of accidentally inhaling stomach contents during general anaesthesia or deep sedation.
We advise patients to tell health professionals, including anaesthetists, that they are taking one of these medicines before a surgery or other procedures to ensure appropriate management.
For more detailed information written for health professionals, including the full text of additional warning, see this Medicines Safety Update article.