Semaglutide may be an effective weight loss supplement for obese patients undergoing THA
Key takeaways:
- Obese patients who took semaglutide prior to total hip arthroplasty had surgical results similar to those who did not receive the drug.
- Semaglutide may be an effective weight loss supplement before surgery.
SAN FRANCISCO — Results showed patients who were obese preoperatively and were treated with semaglutide, an anti-obesity medication, had similar outcomes and complications after total hip arthroplasty vs. those who did not receive the drug.
David A. Momtaz, BS, MPH, and Daniel Pereira, MD, performed a propensity score-matched cohort study of 1,232 patients (mean age of 62.7 years) with obesity (average BMI of 35.5 kg/m2) who underwent THA. Of these patients, 616 were treated with semaglutide preoperatively and 616 did not receive the medication. Results of the study were presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting.
“Semaglutide is an effective weight loss supplement for patients who need to lose weight to be indicated for THA,” Pereira told Healio.
Overall, researchers found patients who used semaglutide had a comparable risk for revision, infection, opioid disorder, mortality, respiratory failure, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, dehydration, cardiovascular comorbidity, shock and dislocation vs. the control group.
“Our findings show that there are noninferior outcomes between patients who were indicated for THA, whether they took semaglutide or not,” Pereira said. “Losing weight in this manner to reduce the chance for adverse risk factors following THA appears to be safe and effective from a surgical perspective,” he added.
Patients scheduled to undergo THA who are indicated for semaglutide should not be deterred from taking the medication, Momtaz said. “Clinicians can safely prescribe this drug to patients scheduled to undergo a THA,” Momtaz told Healio.
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Momtaz DA, et al. Poster e686. Presented at: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting; Feb. 12-16, 2024; San Francisco.