Liraglutide Effects on Upper Gastrointestinal Investigations: Implications Prior to Bariatric Surgery

Liraglutide is a glucagon-like peptide type 1 (GLP-1) analogue that is approved for long-term obesity management in North America. While bariatric surgery remains the gold standard for weight loss, an increasing number of patients are on liraglutide in the setting of ongoing workup for bariatric surgery. The presence of gastrointestinal symptoms prior to bariatric surgery may prompt testing for dysmotility, which affects surgical decision making. Here we report six cases where treatment with liraglutide was associated with reversible reduction in gastric and esophageal motility in screening for bariatric surgery. While liraglutide is known to delay gastric emptying, there are minimal reports of how this medication affects gastrointestinal investigations used in this context. The implications of these abnormal screening investigations on candidacy for bariatric surgery are discussed.