Fewer post-surgery complications were observed in people with diabetes who managed their condition using GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs such as tirzepatide and semaglutide, a recent study found.

Those taking tirzepatide, sold by Eli Lilly as Mounjaro, or semaglutide, marketed by Novo Nordisk as Ozempic and Rybelsus, had 12% lower rates of hospital readmission, 29% fewer instances of wound re-opening, and 56% reduced odds of blood clots at the surgical site compared to similar patients not using these medications, researchers reported in Annals of Surgery.

Risks of bleeding and infections were similar regardless of whether patients were taking GLP-1 drugs.

The findings were drawn from medical records on 35,020 operations performed in 13,129 patients with diabetes between February 2020 and July 2023, half of whom were taking GLP-1 drugs. All the patients had similar risk factors for complications, according to the report.

The study does not prove that GLP-1 drugs prevented complications but suggests possible benefits.

“These findings from such a large number of patients and procedures suggest that taking these drugs shouldn’t worsen overall post-surgical complications and may even reduce the likelihood of some of them,” study leader Jason Spector, MD of New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center said in a statement.

His team is currently trying to determine whether GLP-1 drugs are associated with altered risks of post-surgical complications in patients without diabetes, as semaglutide and tirzepatide are also the active ingredient in the popular weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Zepbound, respectively.