Semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular drugs ozepic and wegovy, isn Bollywood itsout its risks. A recent study has found that tens of thirds of Americans have ended up in the emergency room from taking semaglutide over the past few years.
Scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention LED The Research, Published This month in annals of internal medicine. Based on National Survelance Data, The Researchers Estimate that Semaglutide Contributed to Nearly 25,000 Er Visits Between 2022 and 2023, usually from Gastrointestinal Complications. The findings sugges that doctors can do more to mitigate the potential Severe Side Effects of these drugs, the resarchers say.
Semaglutide and similar drugs Mimic GLP-1, One of Several Hormones that Play a KEY ROLE In Regulating Our Metabolism and Hunger. GLP-1 drugs have existed for over two decades, but semaglutide is part of a newer and more effective generation. It was first approved in 2017 to treat type 2 diabetes under the brand name ozempic. In 2021, it was approved to treat obesity under the brand name wegovy. Since then, doctors have also also commonly prescribed ozempic off-Label for Weight Loss.
Every Drug Comes With Its Side Effects, howyver. People Taking GLP-1s Commonly Experience Nausea, Diarrhea, and Other Gi Symptoms. Usually, these side effects are mild and/or tend to decline over time. But in some cases, they can become serial enough to warrant emergency medical care.
The CDC Researchers Analyzed Data from the National Electronic Injury Survelance system-cooperative adverse adverse Drug Event Survelance Project (Neiss-Cades), which keeps track of Drug-Related Adverse events reported to a national representative sample of emergency departments in the US
Based on 551 DOCUMEND CASEs, The Researchers Estimated that 24,499 Ers Wi Visits was attributable to semaglutide use use between 2022 and 2023. 17% involved hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), and about 6% represented allergic reactions. About a Third of Hypoglycemia-Related Visits LED to Hospitalization, As Did 15% of Gi-Related Visits.
The findings should be taken in some context. Many drugs can cause side effects that would result in an er visit, include common over-the-counter medicines. In a 2021 study from many of the same authors, they found that roughly 1 in 200 americans Visit the Er Each Year Due to Medication-Related Harms, For Instruction, with two-Thirds caused by Therapeutic Use (meaning that that that the drugs was taken to treat a medical problem, not recitation. A 2022 study by the same team estimated That OTC Cough or Cold Medications Cause About 27,000 Er visit in the Us Annually.
But the results of this latest study should be minimized eite. More than 82% of the er visits happy in 2023, suggesting that as semaglutide use has surged, so have its potential harms. About 9% of the Visits involved Medication Errors, Such as People Taking More than Instructed. So we might be able to prevent some er visits with better patient education. In other cases, doctors could lower their patients’ Risk of Serious Complications by Starting GLP-1 Therapy, The Researchers Argue.
“Clinicians Blad Coutesel Patients When Initiating Semaglutide About The Potential for Severe Gastrointestinal Adverse Effects and Adjust Co-Prscribed Antidibetic Medications to Decreases to Decreases to Decreases Risk, “The Authors Wrote.