The UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a warning that weight loss injections such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro may increase the risk of patients choking during surgery. The drugs slow down digestion, meaning food can remain in the stomach longer, potentially causing aspiration during anaesthesia.
The MHRA has ruled that patient information leaflets for these medications must now include warnings about this risk. Healthcare professionals are advised to ask patients about their use of these drugs before surgery, as private prescriptions may not appear on medical records.
The regulator noted a small number of UK reports of patients on these jabs experiencing choking during operations, including one case of aspiration pneumonia. Aspiration pneumonia occurs when stomach contents enter the lungs, causing a potentially fatal infection.
Patients are advised not to stop taking the medication before surgery without consulting their medical team. Anaesthetists will conduct individual risk assessments and take standard precautions to minimise the risk.
Around half a million Britons are estimated to be using weight loss jabs, which have been linked to other risks such as thyroid cancer. A recent investigation revealed nearly 400 hospitalisations since their UK rollout.
