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 (active agent in Ozempic® and Wegovy®) on ninety-day postoperative outcomes and two-year rotator cuff retear following arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) for type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.

Methods: T2DM patients undergoing primary ARCR were identified from the PearlDiver database using administrative billing codes. Exclusion criteria included: patients <18 years old, prior RCR, concurrent non-rotator cuff related arthroscopic shoulder procedures, any traumatic, neoplastic, or infectious diagnoses within 90-days before surgery, and <90-days follow-up. T2DM patients using semaglutide within one-year of ARCR ([+]semaglutide) were matched 1:4 with T2DM patients who did not ([-]semaglutide) by age, sex, Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (ECI), diabetes complications, obesity, tobacco, insulin, and metformin use. Occurrence of any, severe, and minor adverse events (AAE, SAEs, MAEs, respectively) within 90-days were compared by multivariable logistic regression. Two-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 vs. ARCR (+)semaglutide patients was 27.4% vs. 11.0%, SAE was 10.5% vs. 3.5%, and MAE was 22.0% vs. 8.5%, respectively (p<0.001 for all). ARCR (-)semaglutide patients had a higher odds ratio (OR) of AAE (3.65, p<0.001) and SAEs (3.62, p<0.001), including surgical-site infection (2.22, p=0.049), venous thromboembolism (3.10, p<0.001), sepsis (3.87, p<0.001), and cardiac events (3.96, p<0.001). Also, greater odds of MAEs (3.59, p<0.001), including urinary tract infection (3.27), pneumonia (3.88), acute kidney injury (3.91), and ED visits (2.51) (p<0.001 for all). Additionally, (-)semaglutide patients revealed higher 2-year retear vs (+)semaglutide patients (18.3% vs 12.5%, respectively) (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Preoperative semaglutide use for T2DM patients 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.