New weight loss drugs send a sudden number of Americans to the emergency room

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in OzemPIC and Wegov, is not without its risks. A recent study has found that tens of thousands of Americans have ended in the emergency room to take Smaglutide over the past few years.

Scientists have led from the centers of control and prevention control, research, Published This month is in the year of internal medicine. According to national monitoring data, researchers estimate that the semulesids contributed to nearly 25,000 ER visits between 2022 and 2023, and it is usually of complications from the digestive system. The results indicate that doctors can do more to relieve the severe side effects of these drugs.

Semaglutide and similar drugs simulates GLP-1, which is one of the many hormones that play a major role in organizing our metabolism and hunger. The GLP-1 drugs were present for more than two decades, but Smaglutide is part of a newer and more effective generation. It was first approved in 2017 to treat type 2 diabetes under the OZEMPIC brand name. In 2021, obesity treatment was approved under the WEGOKA brand name. Since then, doctors have also prescribed Ozmpic Off-Label for weight loss.

Every medicine comes with its side effects, however. People who take GLP-1 usually suffer from nausea, diarrhea and other digestive symptoms. Usually, these side effects are light and/or tend to decrease over time. But in some cases, it can become serious enough to ensure medical care.

Researchers of the Disease Control Center analyzed data from the project to monitor the negative drug events for national electronic surveillance (Nice-Kades), Which follows the negative events related to drugs that were reported to a representative sample at the national level of emergency departments in the United States

According to 551 documented cases, the researchers estimated that 24,499 visits are due to the use of the supplies between 2022 and 2023. Nearly 70 % of these visits involve the symptoms of the digestive system, while 17 % involve hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), and about 6 % represent vulnerable reactions. About a third of the visits related to blood sugar caused hospitalization, as did 15 % of the army’s visits.

The results should be taken in some context. Many medications can cause side effects that can lead to ER visit, including common prescription. In the study of 2021 of many authors, they found it Almost 1 in 200 Americans Please visit ER every year due to the damage associated with the drugs, for example, with two -thirds of the therapeutic use (this means that the drugs were taken to treat a medical problem, not entertaining). Study 2022 by the same team estimated The cough OTC or cold medications causes about 27,000 ER visits in the United States annually.

But the results of this last study should not be reduced either. More than 82 % of ER visits occurred in 2023, indicating that with the high use of adjectives, therefore he suffers from possible damage. About 9 % of the visits included drug errors, such as people who take more than education. So we may be able to prevent some ER visits with better education for the patient. In other cases, doctors can reduce the risk of serious complications by managing their use of other medicines better, and at least, they can do more to prepare their patients before starting the GLP-1 treatment, the researchers say.

The authors wrote: “Doctors can advise patients when starting to seize the poultry, about the possibility of severe harmful effects in the digestive system and controlling anti -diabetes prescribed drugs to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia,” the authors wrote.