Lower Risk of Postoperative Complications and Rotator Cuff Retear Associated With Semaglutide Use in Patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus Undergoing Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair.

Purpose: To investigate the potential impact of preoperative semaglutide use (the active agent in Ozempic and Wegovy) on 90-day postoperative outcomes and 2-year rotator cuff retear after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) in patients with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: Patients with T2DM undergoing primary ARCR were identified from the PearlDiver database using administrative billing codes. Exclusion criteria included patients <18 years old; previous RCR; concurrent nonrotator cuff-related arthroscopic shoulder procedures; any traumatic, neoplastic, or infectious diagnoses within 90 days before surgery; and <90-days follow-up. Patients with T2DM using semaglutide within 1 year of ARCR ([+]semaglutide) were matched 1:4 with patients with T2DM who did not ([-]semaglutide) by age, sex, Elixhauser Comorbidity Index, diabetes complications, obesity, tobacco, insulin, and metformin use. Occurrence of any adverse events (AAE), severe adverse events (SAE), and minor adverse events (MAE) within 90 days were compared by multivariable logistic regression. The 2-year retear was assessed by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and compared by log-rank test.

Results: There were 1,094 ARCR (+)semaglutide and 4,110 ARCR (-)semaglutide patients meeting inclusion criteria after matching. The incidence of AAE for the ARCR (-)semaglutide versus ARCR (+)semaglutide patients was 27.4% versus 11.0%, SAE was 10.5% versus 3.5%, and MAE was 22.0% versus 8.5%, respectively (P < .001 for all). ARCR (-)semaglutide patients had a greater odds ratio of AAE (3.65, P < .001) and SAE (3.62, P < .001), including surgical-site infection (2.22, P = .049), venous thromboembolism (3.10, P < .001), sepsis (3.87, P < .001), and cardiac events (3.96, P < .001), as well as greater odds of MAE (3.59, P < .001), including urinary tract infection (3.27), pneumonia (3.88), acute kidney injury (3.91), and emergency department visits (2.51) (P < .001 for all). In addition, (-)semaglutide patients revealed greater 2-year retear vs (+)semaglutide patients (18.3% vs 12.5%, respectively) (P < .001).

Conclusions: Preoperative semaglutide use for patients with T2DM undergoing ARCR was associated with decreased odds of minor and serious 90-day adverse events and lower 2-year rotator cuff retear.

Level of evidence: Level III, retrospective comparative study.