10/15/2026
What recommendations are you making to patients on GLP1s, or if you’re a patient—what have you been instructed to do?
I’m currently practicing as a locums anesthesiologist after years in private practice, and thus far I’ve worked in 7 different states in the last 4 years. One thing is certain - anesthesia groups have similar approaches to this topic but nothing is uniform at this point.
The newest recommendation is having a patient abide by a CLEAR LIQUID diet only for 24 hours (in addition to our standard dietary guidelines, ie no clears 2 hours prior to surgery).
This bodes the question… is a 24-hour clear diet enough? Perhaps… Newer guidance supports continuing the medication and using a 24-hour clear-liquid diet before anesthesia.
Why the shift? Studies to date show that holding a weekly GLP-1 for seven days does not reliably eliminate retained stomach contents, therefore a clear liquid dietary prep may be an important part of reducing aspiration risk.
Is reducing retained contents the same as fewer aspiration events? No… and we don’t have definitive evidence yet either way.
What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them.
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