A new study presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons looked at when patients should stop taking Ozempic prior to hip or knee replacement procedures.
Here are seven things to know about the study’s findings, according to a March 10 AAOS news release:
1. The study examined how timing of a patient’s last Ozempic dose affects emergence, aspiration, aspiration pneumonitis and conversion to intubation.
2. The study determined that stopping GLP-1s two weeks before surgery lowered patient complication risks.
3. Other studies have found that GLP-1s can delay gastric emptying, causing complications when it comes to fasting before procedures requiring anesthesia.
4. The study looked at patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty or total hip arthroplasty between Jan. 1, 2018, and Jan. 1, 2023.
5. Patients from the following groups for discontinued Ozempic usage:
- 30 days prior to surgery: 482 patients
- 14 days prior to surgery: 591 patients
- 7 days prior to surgery: 680 patients
- 5 days prior to surgery: 758 patients
- 3 days prior to surgery: 777 patients
- 1 day prior to surgery: 706 patients
- Did not stop Ozempic prior to surgery: 170 patients
- These patients were compared to a control group of 206,005 with no history of Ozempic use.
6. The study determined that patients who did not stop Ozempic use before surgery faced the highest complication rates.
7. Patients stopping Ozempic three to five days before surgery faced delayed emergence from anesthesia and aspiration pneumonitis, while patients stopping Ozempic three to seven days before surgery faced aspiration and conversion to intubation. Patients who stopped Ozempic 14 to 30 days before surgery faced none of these risks.
