Appendicitis After Initiation of Tirzepatide.

Abstract

Tirzepatide is a GLP1/GIP receptor agonist that is used to treat type 2 diabetes and promote weight loss. Common side effects of Tirzepatide include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. More severe side effects include pancreatitis, cholelithiasis, thyroid cancer, and cholecystitis. With the increased use of these medications, additional side effects are being discovered. Delayed gastric emptying associated with GLP1/GIP receptor agonists can increase the risk of developing appendicitis due to changes in gastrointestinal motility. There is minimal data on the risk of developing appendicitis with Tirzepatide. This novel case report presents a 73-year-old female patient, without typical risk factors or obvious triggers, who developed appendicitis one week following the initiation of Tirzepatide. Once Tirzepatide was stopped, the patient's symptoms dramatically improved and there was improvement also demonstrated on CT imaging. The patient eventually got an outpatient appendectomy. Appendicitis is not frequently reported as a GLP1/GIP receptor agonist side effect in clinical studies. There seems to be a temporal association between Tirzepatide and the onset of appendicitis. This case report highlights the importance of considering appendicitis as a potential adverse effect of Tirzepatide, a GLP1/GIP receptor agonist.