ASA guidance advising patients taking popular medications for diabetes, weight loss should stop before elective surgery makes headlines

The guidance suggesting patients withhold glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists before elective surgery to reduce the risk of complications associated with anesthesia, was featured on Reuters. The article also received coverage on U.S. News & World Report, AOL, Yahoo! News, and Daily Mail (U.K.). Additionally, news of the guidance was featured on CNBC, Medscape, MedPage Today, Becker’s, STAT, and WebMD, among other outlets. “The group [ASA] has received anecdotal reports from across the country that patients taking the drugs may be at increased risk of vomiting and aspirating food into the lungs and airways during general anesthesia or deep sedation,” ASA President Michael W. Champeau, M.D., FAAP, FASA, told Reuters.