User login
An Overview of Gender-Affirming Care for Children and Adolescents
As Pride Month drew to a close, the Supreme Court made a shocking announcement. For the first time in the history of the court, it is willing to hear a legal challenge regarding gender-affirming care for minors. The justices will review whether a 2023 Tennessee law, SB1, which bans hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgery for transgender minors, is unconstitutional. This is the first time the Supreme Court will directly weigh in on gender-affirming care.
There are few topics as politically and medically divisive as gender-affirming care for minors. When the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) released its updated Standards of Care, SOC8, one of the noticeable changes to the document was its approach to caring for transgender children and adolescents.
Before I highlight these recommendations and the ensuing controversy, it is imperative to establish proper terminology. Unfortunately, medical and legal terms often differ. Both activists and opponents use these terms interchangeably, which makes discourse about an already emotionally charged topic extremely difficult. From a legal perspective, the terms “minor” and “child” often refer to individuals under the age of majority. In the United States, the age of majority is 18. However, the term child also has a well-established medical definition. A child is an individual between the stages of infancy and puberty. Adolescence is a transitional period marked by the onset of puberty until adulthood (typically the age of majority). As medical providers, understanding these definitions is essential to identifying misinformation pertaining to this type of healthcare.
For the purposes of this article, I will be adhering to the medical terminology. Now, I want to be very clear. WPATH does not endorse surgical procedures on children. Furthermore, surgeons are not performing gender-affirming surgeries on children. On adolescents, rarely. But children, never.
According to the updated SOC8, the only acceptable gender-affirming intervention for children is psychosocial support.1 This does not include puberty blockers, hormones, or surgery, but rather allowing a child to explore their gender identity by experimenting with different clothing, toys, hairstyles, and even an alternative name that aligns more closely with their gender identity.1
It is only after children reach adolescence that medical, and in rare cases, surgical interventions, can be considered. Puberty blockers are appropriate for patients who have started puberty and experience gender dysphoria. These medications are reversible, and their purpose is to temporarily pause puberty to allow the adolescent to further explore their gender identity.
The most significant side effect of puberty blockers is decreased bone density.1 As a result, providers typically do not prescribe these medications for more than 2-3 years. After discontinuation of the medication, bone density returns to baseline.1 If the adolescent’s gender identity is marked and sustained over time, hormone therapy, such as testosterone or estrogen is then considered. Unlike puberty blockers, these medications can have permanent side effects. Testosterone use can lead to irreversible hair growth, alopecia, clitoromegaly, and voice deepening, while estrogen can cause permanent breast growth and halt sperm production.1 Future fertility and these side effects are discussed with the patient in detail prior to the initiation of these medications.
Contrary to the current political narrative, gender-affirming care for children and adolescents is not taken lightly. These individuals often receive years of multidisciplinary assessments, with a focus on gender identity development, social development and support, and diagnostic assessment of possible co-occurring mental health or developmental concerns and capacity for decision making.1 The clinical visits also occur with parental support and consent.
WPATH SOC8 also delineates the provider qualifications for health care professionals assessing these patients. Providers must be licensed by their statutory bodies and hold a postgraduate degree by a nationally accredited statutory institution; receive theoretical and evidence-based training and develop expertise in child, adolescent, and family mental health across the developmental spectrum; receive training and have expertise in gender identity development and gender diversity in children and adolescence; have the ability to assess capacity to assent/consent; receive training and develop expertise in autism spectrum disorders and other neurodevelopmental presentations; and to continue engaging in professional development in all areas relevant to gender-diverse children, adolescents, and families.1
The most controversial aspect of gender-affirming care for children and adolescents relates to surgical treatment. While the rates of gender-affirming surgeries have increased for this age group over the years, the overall rate of gender-affirming surgery for adolescents is markedly lower compared with other adolescents seeking cosmetic surgeries and compared with transgender adults undergoing gender-affirming surgery.
In a cohort study conducted between 2016 to 2020, 48,019 patients were identified who had undergone gender-affirming surgery.2 Only 3678 or 7.7% of patients were aged between 12 and 18, with the most common procedure being chest/breast surgery.2 So, under about 1000 cases per year were gender-affirming surgeries on patients under 18.
During 2020 alone, the number of cisgender adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 who underwent breast augmentation and breast reduction was 3233 and 4666, respectively.3 The outrage about gender-affirming surgeries on transgender youth, yet the silence on cosmetic procedures in this same age group, speaks volumes.
All surgeries on adolescents should be taken seriously and with caution, regardless of gender identity. However, current legislation disproportionately targets only transgender youth. For whatever reason, surgeries on transgender individuals are labeled as “body mutilation,” whereas surgeries on cisgender youth are not even discussed. Such inflammatory rhetoric and complete lack of empathy impedes the common goal of all parties: what is in the best interest of the minor? Unfortunately, in a few short months, the answer to this question will be determined by a group of nine justices who have no experience in medicine or transgender health care, instead of by medical experts and the parents who care for these individuals.
Dr. Brandt is an ob.gyn. and fellowship-trained gender-affirming surgeon in West Reading, Pennsylvania. She has no conflicts of interest.
References
1. Coleman E et al. Standards of care for the health of transgender and gender diverse people, version 8. Int J Transgender Health. 2022;23(sup):S1-S259.
2. Wright JD et al. National estimates of gender affirming surgery in the US. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Aug 1;6(8):e2330348.
3. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Plastic Surgery Statistics Report. ASPS National Clearinghouse of Plastic Surgery Procedural Statistics. 2020.
As Pride Month drew to a close, the Supreme Court made a shocking announcement. For the first time in the history of the court, it is willing to hear a legal challenge regarding gender-affirming care for minors. The justices will review whether a 2023 Tennessee law, SB1, which bans hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgery for transgender minors, is unconstitutional. This is the first time the Supreme Court will directly weigh in on gender-affirming care.
There are few topics as politically and medically divisive as gender-affirming care for minors. When the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) released its updated Standards of Care, SOC8, one of the noticeable changes to the document was its approach to caring for transgender children and adolescents.
Before I highlight these recommendations and the ensuing controversy, it is imperative to establish proper terminology. Unfortunately, medical and legal terms often differ. Both activists and opponents use these terms interchangeably, which makes discourse about an already emotionally charged topic extremely difficult. From a legal perspective, the terms “minor” and “child” often refer to individuals under the age of majority. In the United States, the age of majority is 18. However, the term child also has a well-established medical definition. A child is an individual between the stages of infancy and puberty. Adolescence is a transitional period marked by the onset of puberty until adulthood (typically the age of majority). As medical providers, understanding these definitions is essential to identifying misinformation pertaining to this type of healthcare.
For the purposes of this article, I will be adhering to the medical terminology. Now, I want to be very clear. WPATH does not endorse surgical procedures on children. Furthermore, surgeons are not performing gender-affirming surgeries on children. On adolescents, rarely. But children, never.
According to the updated SOC8, the only acceptable gender-affirming intervention for children is psychosocial support.1 This does not include puberty blockers, hormones, or surgery, but rather allowing a child to explore their gender identity by experimenting with different clothing, toys, hairstyles, and even an alternative name that aligns more closely with their gender identity.1
It is only after children reach adolescence that medical, and in rare cases, surgical interventions, can be considered. Puberty blockers are appropriate for patients who have started puberty and experience gender dysphoria. These medications are reversible, and their purpose is to temporarily pause puberty to allow the adolescent to further explore their gender identity.
The most significant side effect of puberty blockers is decreased bone density.1 As a result, providers typically do not prescribe these medications for more than 2-3 years. After discontinuation of the medication, bone density returns to baseline.1 If the adolescent’s gender identity is marked and sustained over time, hormone therapy, such as testosterone or estrogen is then considered. Unlike puberty blockers, these medications can have permanent side effects. Testosterone use can lead to irreversible hair growth, alopecia, clitoromegaly, and voice deepening, while estrogen can cause permanent breast growth and halt sperm production.1 Future fertility and these side effects are discussed with the patient in detail prior to the initiation of these medications.
Contrary to the current political narrative, gender-affirming care for children and adolescents is not taken lightly. These individuals often receive years of multidisciplinary assessments, with a focus on gender identity development, social development and support, and diagnostic assessment of possible co-occurring mental health or developmental concerns and capacity for decision making.1 The clinical visits also occur with parental support and consent.
WPATH SOC8 also delineates the provider qualifications for health care professionals assessing these patients. Providers must be licensed by their statutory bodies and hold a postgraduate degree by a nationally accredited statutory institution; receive theoretical and evidence-based training and develop expertise in child, adolescent, and family mental health across the developmental spectrum; receive training and have expertise in gender identity development and gender diversity in children and adolescence; have the ability to assess capacity to assent/consent; receive training and develop expertise in autism spectrum disorders and other neurodevelopmental presentations; and to continue engaging in professional development in all areas relevant to gender-diverse children, adolescents, and families.1
The most controversial aspect of gender-affirming care for children and adolescents relates to surgical treatment. While the rates of gender-affirming surgeries have increased for this age group over the years, the overall rate of gender-affirming surgery for adolescents is markedly lower compared with other adolescents seeking cosmetic surgeries and compared with transgender adults undergoing gender-affirming surgery.
In a cohort study conducted between 2016 to 2020, 48,019 patients were identified who had undergone gender-affirming surgery.2 Only 3678 or 7.7% of patients were aged between 12 and 18, with the most common procedure being chest/breast surgery.2 So, under about 1000 cases per year were gender-affirming surgeries on patients under 18.
During 2020 alone, the number of cisgender adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 who underwent breast augmentation and breast reduction was 3233 and 4666, respectively.3 The outrage about gender-affirming surgeries on transgender youth, yet the silence on cosmetic procedures in this same age group, speaks volumes.
All surgeries on adolescents should be taken seriously and with caution, regardless of gender identity. However, current legislation disproportionately targets only transgender youth. For whatever reason, surgeries on transgender individuals are labeled as “body mutilation,” whereas surgeries on cisgender youth are not even discussed. Such inflammatory rhetoric and complete lack of empathy impedes the common goal of all parties: what is in the best interest of the minor? Unfortunately, in a few short months, the answer to this question will be determined by a group of nine justices who have no experience in medicine or transgender health care, instead of by medical experts and the parents who care for these individuals.
Dr. Brandt is an ob.gyn. and fellowship-trained gender-affirming surgeon in West Reading, Pennsylvania. She has no conflicts of interest.
References
1. Coleman E et al. Standards of care for the health of transgender and gender diverse people, version 8. Int J Transgender Health. 2022;23(sup):S1-S259.
2. Wright JD et al. National estimates of gender affirming surgery in the US. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Aug 1;6(8):e2330348.
3. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Plastic Surgery Statistics Report. ASPS National Clearinghouse of Plastic Surgery Procedural Statistics. 2020.
As Pride Month drew to a close, the Supreme Court made a shocking announcement. For the first time in the history of the court, it is willing to hear a legal challenge regarding gender-affirming care for minors. The justices will review whether a 2023 Tennessee law, SB1, which bans hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgery for transgender minors, is unconstitutional. This is the first time the Supreme Court will directly weigh in on gender-affirming care.
There are few topics as politically and medically divisive as gender-affirming care for minors. When the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) released its updated Standards of Care, SOC8, one of the noticeable changes to the document was its approach to caring for transgender children and adolescents.
Before I highlight these recommendations and the ensuing controversy, it is imperative to establish proper terminology. Unfortunately, medical and legal terms often differ. Both activists and opponents use these terms interchangeably, which makes discourse about an already emotionally charged topic extremely difficult. From a legal perspective, the terms “minor” and “child” often refer to individuals under the age of majority. In the United States, the age of majority is 18. However, the term child also has a well-established medical definition. A child is an individual between the stages of infancy and puberty. Adolescence is a transitional period marked by the onset of puberty until adulthood (typically the age of majority). As medical providers, understanding these definitions is essential to identifying misinformation pertaining to this type of healthcare.
For the purposes of this article, I will be adhering to the medical terminology. Now, I want to be very clear. WPATH does not endorse surgical procedures on children. Furthermore, surgeons are not performing gender-affirming surgeries on children. On adolescents, rarely. But children, never.
According to the updated SOC8, the only acceptable gender-affirming intervention for children is psychosocial support.1 This does not include puberty blockers, hormones, or surgery, but rather allowing a child to explore their gender identity by experimenting with different clothing, toys, hairstyles, and even an alternative name that aligns more closely with their gender identity.1
It is only after children reach adolescence that medical, and in rare cases, surgical interventions, can be considered. Puberty blockers are appropriate for patients who have started puberty and experience gender dysphoria. These medications are reversible, and their purpose is to temporarily pause puberty to allow the adolescent to further explore their gender identity.
The most significant side effect of puberty blockers is decreased bone density.1 As a result, providers typically do not prescribe these medications for more than 2-3 years. After discontinuation of the medication, bone density returns to baseline.1 If the adolescent’s gender identity is marked and sustained over time, hormone therapy, such as testosterone or estrogen is then considered. Unlike puberty blockers, these medications can have permanent side effects. Testosterone use can lead to irreversible hair growth, alopecia, clitoromegaly, and voice deepening, while estrogen can cause permanent breast growth and halt sperm production.1 Future fertility and these side effects are discussed with the patient in detail prior to the initiation of these medications.
Contrary to the current political narrative, gender-affirming care for children and adolescents is not taken lightly. These individuals often receive years of multidisciplinary assessments, with a focus on gender identity development, social development and support, and diagnostic assessment of possible co-occurring mental health or developmental concerns and capacity for decision making.1 The clinical visits also occur with parental support and consent.
WPATH SOC8 also delineates the provider qualifications for health care professionals assessing these patients. Providers must be licensed by their statutory bodies and hold a postgraduate degree by a nationally accredited statutory institution; receive theoretical and evidence-based training and develop expertise in child, adolescent, and family mental health across the developmental spectrum; receive training and have expertise in gender identity development and gender diversity in children and adolescence; have the ability to assess capacity to assent/consent; receive training and develop expertise in autism spectrum disorders and other neurodevelopmental presentations; and to continue engaging in professional development in all areas relevant to gender-diverse children, adolescents, and families.1
The most controversial aspect of gender-affirming care for children and adolescents relates to surgical treatment. While the rates of gender-affirming surgeries have increased for this age group over the years, the overall rate of gender-affirming surgery for adolescents is markedly lower compared with other adolescents seeking cosmetic surgeries and compared with transgender adults undergoing gender-affirming surgery.
In a cohort study conducted between 2016 to 2020, 48,019 patients were identified who had undergone gender-affirming surgery.2 Only 3678 or 7.7% of patients were aged between 12 and 18, with the most common procedure being chest/breast surgery.2 So, under about 1000 cases per year were gender-affirming surgeries on patients under 18.
During 2020 alone, the number of cisgender adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 who underwent breast augmentation and breast reduction was 3233 and 4666, respectively.3 The outrage about gender-affirming surgeries on transgender youth, yet the silence on cosmetic procedures in this same age group, speaks volumes.
All surgeries on adolescents should be taken seriously and with caution, regardless of gender identity. However, current legislation disproportionately targets only transgender youth. For whatever reason, surgeries on transgender individuals are labeled as “body mutilation,” whereas surgeries on cisgender youth are not even discussed. Such inflammatory rhetoric and complete lack of empathy impedes the common goal of all parties: what is in the best interest of the minor? Unfortunately, in a few short months, the answer to this question will be determined by a group of nine justices who have no experience in medicine or transgender health care, instead of by medical experts and the parents who care for these individuals.
Dr. Brandt is an ob.gyn. and fellowship-trained gender-affirming surgeon in West Reading, Pennsylvania. She has no conflicts of interest.
References
1. Coleman E et al. Standards of care for the health of transgender and gender diverse people, version 8. Int J Transgender Health. 2022;23(sup):S1-S259.
2. Wright JD et al. National estimates of gender affirming surgery in the US. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Aug 1;6(8):e2330348.
3. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Plastic Surgery Statistics Report. ASPS National Clearinghouse of Plastic Surgery Procedural Statistics. 2020.
Another Social Media Snowball
Recently, the British Journal of General Practice published a paper that claimed that anxiety may be a prodromal feature of Parkinson’s disease). That news was widely picked up and spread.
The researchers certainly have some interesting data, but this sort of article, once enough general and social media websites get a hold of it, is bound to cause panic in the streets. And phone calls to my office.
An anxious-by-nature friend even emailed me the link with a laconic “Well, I’m screwed” in the subject line.
Is there a correlation between Parkinson’s disease and anxiety? Probably. Any of us practicing neurology have seen it. Some of it is likely from the anxiety of the situation, but the biochemical changes brought by the disease are also likely a big part.
But does that mean everyone with anxiety has Parkinson’s disease? Of course not. Anxiety is common, probably more common in our current era than ever before (this is why I tell patients not to watch the news and to avoid social media — they’re bad for your sanity and blood pressure).
Stories like this, once they start getting forwarded on Facebook (or another social media outlet), only raise anxiety, which results in more forwarding, and the snowball begins rolling downhill before crashing into my office (obviously this is a figure of speech, as it’s July in Phoenix).
The research is interesting. The point is valid. But the leaps the public makes are ... problematic. It’s only a matter of time before someone comes in demanding a DaT scan because they’re anxious. At $4K a test, that’s not happening.
Which raises anxiety all around.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Recently, the British Journal of General Practice published a paper that claimed that anxiety may be a prodromal feature of Parkinson’s disease). That news was widely picked up and spread.
The researchers certainly have some interesting data, but this sort of article, once enough general and social media websites get a hold of it, is bound to cause panic in the streets. And phone calls to my office.
An anxious-by-nature friend even emailed me the link with a laconic “Well, I’m screwed” in the subject line.
Is there a correlation between Parkinson’s disease and anxiety? Probably. Any of us practicing neurology have seen it. Some of it is likely from the anxiety of the situation, but the biochemical changes brought by the disease are also likely a big part.
But does that mean everyone with anxiety has Parkinson’s disease? Of course not. Anxiety is common, probably more common in our current era than ever before (this is why I tell patients not to watch the news and to avoid social media — they’re bad for your sanity and blood pressure).
Stories like this, once they start getting forwarded on Facebook (or another social media outlet), only raise anxiety, which results in more forwarding, and the snowball begins rolling downhill before crashing into my office (obviously this is a figure of speech, as it’s July in Phoenix).
The research is interesting. The point is valid. But the leaps the public makes are ... problematic. It’s only a matter of time before someone comes in demanding a DaT scan because they’re anxious. At $4K a test, that’s not happening.
Which raises anxiety all around.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Recently, the British Journal of General Practice published a paper that claimed that anxiety may be a prodromal feature of Parkinson’s disease). That news was widely picked up and spread.
The researchers certainly have some interesting data, but this sort of article, once enough general and social media websites get a hold of it, is bound to cause panic in the streets. And phone calls to my office.
An anxious-by-nature friend even emailed me the link with a laconic “Well, I’m screwed” in the subject line.
Is there a correlation between Parkinson’s disease and anxiety? Probably. Any of us practicing neurology have seen it. Some of it is likely from the anxiety of the situation, but the biochemical changes brought by the disease are also likely a big part.
But does that mean everyone with anxiety has Parkinson’s disease? Of course not. Anxiety is common, probably more common in our current era than ever before (this is why I tell patients not to watch the news and to avoid social media — they’re bad for your sanity and blood pressure).
Stories like this, once they start getting forwarded on Facebook (or another social media outlet), only raise anxiety, which results in more forwarding, and the snowball begins rolling downhill before crashing into my office (obviously this is a figure of speech, as it’s July in Phoenix).
The research is interesting. The point is valid. But the leaps the public makes are ... problematic. It’s only a matter of time before someone comes in demanding a DaT scan because they’re anxious. At $4K a test, that’s not happening.
Which raises anxiety all around.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Medication Overuse in Mental Health Facilities: Not the Answer, Regardless of Consent, Says Ethicist
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
There’s a growing scandal in mental health care. Recent studies are showing that certain medications that basically are used to, if you will, quiet patients — antipsychotic drugs — are being overused, particularly in facilities that serve poorer people and people who are minorities. This situation is utterly, ethically unacceptable and it’s something that we are starting to get really pressed to solve.
Part of this is due to the fact that numbers of caregivers are in short supply. We need to get more people trained. We need to get more mental health providers at all levels into facilities in order to provide care, and not substitute that inability to have a provider present and minimize risk to patients by having drug-induced sleepiness, soporific behavior, or, if you will, snowing them just because we don’t have enough people to keep an eye on them. Furthermore, we can’t let them engage in some activities, even things like walking around, because we’re worried about falls. The nursing homes or mental health facilities don’t want anybody to get injured, much less killed, because that’s going to really bring government agencies down on them.
What do we do, aside from trying to get more numbers in there? California came up with a law not too long ago that basically put the burden of using these drugs on consent. They passed a law that said the patient, before going under and being administered any type of psychoactive drug, has to consent; or if they’re really unable to do that, their relative or next of kin should have to consent.
California law now puts the burden on getting consent from the patient in order to use these drugs. It’s not a good solution. It still permits the use of the drugs to substitute for the inability to provide adequate numbers of people to provide care in safe environments. It’s almost like saying, “We know you’re going into a dangerous place. We can’t really reduce the danger, so we’re going to make sure that you stay in your seat. You better consent to that because otherwise things could not go well for you in this mental institution.”
That’s not a sound argument for the use of informed consent. Moreover, I’m very skeptical that many of these people in mental institutions do have the capacity to either say, “Fine, give me psychoactive drugs if I have to stay here,” or “No, I don’t want that. I’ll take my chances.”
They’re vulnerable people. Many of them may not be fully incompetent, but they often have compromised competency. Relatives may be thinking, Well, the right thing to do is just to make sure they don’t get hurt or injure themselves. Yes, give them the drugs.
Consent, while I support it, is not the solution to what is fundamentally an infrastructure problem, a personnel problem, and one of the shames of American healthcare, which is lousy long-term mental health care. For too many people, their care is in the street. For too many people, their care is taking place in institutions that have dangerous designs where people either get injured, can’t provide enough spacing, or just don’t have the people to do it.
Let’s move to fix the mental health care system and not be in a situation where we say to people, “The system stinks and you’re at risk. Is it okay with you if we drug you because we can’t think of any other way to keep you safe, given the rotten nature of the institutions that we’ve got?”
Dr. Caplan is director, Division of Medical Ethics, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York. He disclosed ties with Johnson & Johnson’s Panel for Compassionate Drug Use (unpaid position) and serves as a contributing author and adviser for Medscape.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
There’s a growing scandal in mental health care. Recent studies are showing that certain medications that basically are used to, if you will, quiet patients — antipsychotic drugs — are being overused, particularly in facilities that serve poorer people and people who are minorities. This situation is utterly, ethically unacceptable and it’s something that we are starting to get really pressed to solve.
Part of this is due to the fact that numbers of caregivers are in short supply. We need to get more people trained. We need to get more mental health providers at all levels into facilities in order to provide care, and not substitute that inability to have a provider present and minimize risk to patients by having drug-induced sleepiness, soporific behavior, or, if you will, snowing them just because we don’t have enough people to keep an eye on them. Furthermore, we can’t let them engage in some activities, even things like walking around, because we’re worried about falls. The nursing homes or mental health facilities don’t want anybody to get injured, much less killed, because that’s going to really bring government agencies down on them.
What do we do, aside from trying to get more numbers in there? California came up with a law not too long ago that basically put the burden of using these drugs on consent. They passed a law that said the patient, before going under and being administered any type of psychoactive drug, has to consent; or if they’re really unable to do that, their relative or next of kin should have to consent.
California law now puts the burden on getting consent from the patient in order to use these drugs. It’s not a good solution. It still permits the use of the drugs to substitute for the inability to provide adequate numbers of people to provide care in safe environments. It’s almost like saying, “We know you’re going into a dangerous place. We can’t really reduce the danger, so we’re going to make sure that you stay in your seat. You better consent to that because otherwise things could not go well for you in this mental institution.”
That’s not a sound argument for the use of informed consent. Moreover, I’m very skeptical that many of these people in mental institutions do have the capacity to either say, “Fine, give me psychoactive drugs if I have to stay here,” or “No, I don’t want that. I’ll take my chances.”
They’re vulnerable people. Many of them may not be fully incompetent, but they often have compromised competency. Relatives may be thinking, Well, the right thing to do is just to make sure they don’t get hurt or injure themselves. Yes, give them the drugs.
Consent, while I support it, is not the solution to what is fundamentally an infrastructure problem, a personnel problem, and one of the shames of American healthcare, which is lousy long-term mental health care. For too many people, their care is in the street. For too many people, their care is taking place in institutions that have dangerous designs where people either get injured, can’t provide enough spacing, or just don’t have the people to do it.
Let’s move to fix the mental health care system and not be in a situation where we say to people, “The system stinks and you’re at risk. Is it okay with you if we drug you because we can’t think of any other way to keep you safe, given the rotten nature of the institutions that we’ve got?”
Dr. Caplan is director, Division of Medical Ethics, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York. He disclosed ties with Johnson & Johnson’s Panel for Compassionate Drug Use (unpaid position) and serves as a contributing author and adviser for Medscape.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
There’s a growing scandal in mental health care. Recent studies are showing that certain medications that basically are used to, if you will, quiet patients — antipsychotic drugs — are being overused, particularly in facilities that serve poorer people and people who are minorities. This situation is utterly, ethically unacceptable and it’s something that we are starting to get really pressed to solve.
Part of this is due to the fact that numbers of caregivers are in short supply. We need to get more people trained. We need to get more mental health providers at all levels into facilities in order to provide care, and not substitute that inability to have a provider present and minimize risk to patients by having drug-induced sleepiness, soporific behavior, or, if you will, snowing them just because we don’t have enough people to keep an eye on them. Furthermore, we can’t let them engage in some activities, even things like walking around, because we’re worried about falls. The nursing homes or mental health facilities don’t want anybody to get injured, much less killed, because that’s going to really bring government agencies down on them.
What do we do, aside from trying to get more numbers in there? California came up with a law not too long ago that basically put the burden of using these drugs on consent. They passed a law that said the patient, before going under and being administered any type of psychoactive drug, has to consent; or if they’re really unable to do that, their relative or next of kin should have to consent.
California law now puts the burden on getting consent from the patient in order to use these drugs. It’s not a good solution. It still permits the use of the drugs to substitute for the inability to provide adequate numbers of people to provide care in safe environments. It’s almost like saying, “We know you’re going into a dangerous place. We can’t really reduce the danger, so we’re going to make sure that you stay in your seat. You better consent to that because otherwise things could not go well for you in this mental institution.”
That’s not a sound argument for the use of informed consent. Moreover, I’m very skeptical that many of these people in mental institutions do have the capacity to either say, “Fine, give me psychoactive drugs if I have to stay here,” or “No, I don’t want that. I’ll take my chances.”
They’re vulnerable people. Many of them may not be fully incompetent, but they often have compromised competency. Relatives may be thinking, Well, the right thing to do is just to make sure they don’t get hurt or injure themselves. Yes, give them the drugs.
Consent, while I support it, is not the solution to what is fundamentally an infrastructure problem, a personnel problem, and one of the shames of American healthcare, which is lousy long-term mental health care. For too many people, their care is in the street. For too many people, their care is taking place in institutions that have dangerous designs where people either get injured, can’t provide enough spacing, or just don’t have the people to do it.
Let’s move to fix the mental health care system and not be in a situation where we say to people, “The system stinks and you’re at risk. Is it okay with you if we drug you because we can’t think of any other way to keep you safe, given the rotten nature of the institutions that we’ve got?”
Dr. Caplan is director, Division of Medical Ethics, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York. He disclosed ties with Johnson & Johnson’s Panel for Compassionate Drug Use (unpaid position) and serves as a contributing author and adviser for Medscape.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
The Future of Obesity
I am not planning on having a headstone on my grave, or even having a grave for that matter. However, if my heirs decide to ignore my wishes and opt for some pithy observation chiseled into a tastefully sized granite block, I suspect they might choose “He always knew which way the wind was blowing ... but wasn’t so sure about the tides.” Which aptly describes both my navigational deficiencies they have observed here over my six decades on the Maine coast as well as my general inability to predict the future. Nonetheless, I am going to throw caution to the wind and take this opportunity to ponder where obesity in this country will go over the next couple of decades.
In March of last year the London-based World Obesity Federation published its World Obesity Atlas. In the summary the authors predict that based on current trends “obesity will cost the global economy of US $4 trillion of potential income in 2035, nearly 3% of current global domestic product (GDP).” They envision the “rising prevalence of obesity to be steepest among children and adolescents rising from 10% to 20% of the world’s boys during the period 2029 to 2035, and rising fro 8% to 18% of the world’s girls.”
These dire predictions assume no significant measures to reverse this trajectory such as universal health coverage. Nor do the authors attempt to predict the effect of the growing use of GLP-1 agonists. This omission is surprising and somewhat refreshing given the fact that the project was funded by an unrestricted grant from Novo Nordisk, a major producer of one of these drugs.
Unfortunately, I think it is unlikely that over the next couple of decades any large countries who do not already have a functioning universal health care system will find the political will to develop one capable of reversing the trend toward obesity. Certainly, I don’t see it in the cards for this country.
On the other hand, I can foresee the availability and ease of administration for GLP-1 agonists and similar drugs improving over the near term. However, the cost and availability will continue to widen the separation between the haves and the have-nots, both globally and within each country. This will mean that the countries and population subgroups that already experience the bulk of the economic and health consequences of obesity will continue to shoulder an outsized burden of this “disease.”
It is unclear how much this widening of the fat-getting-fatter dynamic will add to the global and national political unrest that already seems to be tracking the effects of climate change. However, I can’t imaging it is going to be a calming or uniting force.
Narrowing our focus from an international to an individual resource-rich country such as the United States, let’s consider what the significant growth in availability and affordability of GLP-1 agonist drugs will mean. There will certainly be short-term improvements in the morbidity and mortality of some of the obesity related diseases. However, for other conditions it may take longer than two decades for us to notice an effect. While it is tempting to consider these declines as a financial boon for the country that already spends a high percentage of its GDP on healthcare. However, as the well-known Saturday Night Live pundit Roseanne Roseannadanna often observed, ”it’s always something ... if it’s not one thing it’s another.” There may be other non-obesity conditions that surge to fill the gap, leaving us still with a substantial financial burden for healthcare.
Patients taking GLP-1 agonists lose weight because they feel full and eat less food. While currently the number of patients taking these drugs is relatively small, the effect on this country’s food consumption is too small to calculate. However, let’s assume that 20 years from now half of the obese patients are taking appetite blunting medication. Using today’s statistics this means that 50 million adults will be eating significantly less food. Will the agriculturists have gradually adjusted to produce less food? Will this mean there is more food for the those experiencing “food insecurity”? I doubt it. Most food insecurity seems to be a problem of distribution and inequality, not supply.
Physicians now caution patients taking GLP-1 agonists to eat a healthy and balanced diet. When the drugs are more commonly available, will this caution be heeded by the majority? Will we see a population that may no longer be obese but nonetheless malnourished because of bad choices?
And, finally, in a similar vein, will previously obese individuals suddenly or gradually begin to be more physically active once the appetite blunting medicines have helped them lose weight? Here, I have my doubts. Of course, some leaner individuals begin to take advantage of their new body morphology. But, I fear that old sedentary habits will die very slowly for most, and not at all for many. We have built a vehicle-centric society in which being physically active requires making a conscious effort. Electronic devices and sedentary entertainment options are not going to disappear just because a significant percentage of the population is no longer obese.
So there you have it. I suspect that I am correct about which way some of the winds are blowing as the obesity becomes moves into its treatable “disease” phase. But, as always, I haven’t a clue which way the tide is running.
Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “How to Say No to Your Toddler.” Other than a Littman stethoscope he accepted as a first-year medical student in 1966, Dr. Wilkoff reports having nothing to disclose. Email him at pdnews@mdedge.com.
I am not planning on having a headstone on my grave, or even having a grave for that matter. However, if my heirs decide to ignore my wishes and opt for some pithy observation chiseled into a tastefully sized granite block, I suspect they might choose “He always knew which way the wind was blowing ... but wasn’t so sure about the tides.” Which aptly describes both my navigational deficiencies they have observed here over my six decades on the Maine coast as well as my general inability to predict the future. Nonetheless, I am going to throw caution to the wind and take this opportunity to ponder where obesity in this country will go over the next couple of decades.
In March of last year the London-based World Obesity Federation published its World Obesity Atlas. In the summary the authors predict that based on current trends “obesity will cost the global economy of US $4 trillion of potential income in 2035, nearly 3% of current global domestic product (GDP).” They envision the “rising prevalence of obesity to be steepest among children and adolescents rising from 10% to 20% of the world’s boys during the period 2029 to 2035, and rising fro 8% to 18% of the world’s girls.”
These dire predictions assume no significant measures to reverse this trajectory such as universal health coverage. Nor do the authors attempt to predict the effect of the growing use of GLP-1 agonists. This omission is surprising and somewhat refreshing given the fact that the project was funded by an unrestricted grant from Novo Nordisk, a major producer of one of these drugs.
Unfortunately, I think it is unlikely that over the next couple of decades any large countries who do not already have a functioning universal health care system will find the political will to develop one capable of reversing the trend toward obesity. Certainly, I don’t see it in the cards for this country.
On the other hand, I can foresee the availability and ease of administration for GLP-1 agonists and similar drugs improving over the near term. However, the cost and availability will continue to widen the separation between the haves and the have-nots, both globally and within each country. This will mean that the countries and population subgroups that already experience the bulk of the economic and health consequences of obesity will continue to shoulder an outsized burden of this “disease.”
It is unclear how much this widening of the fat-getting-fatter dynamic will add to the global and national political unrest that already seems to be tracking the effects of climate change. However, I can’t imaging it is going to be a calming or uniting force.
Narrowing our focus from an international to an individual resource-rich country such as the United States, let’s consider what the significant growth in availability and affordability of GLP-1 agonist drugs will mean. There will certainly be short-term improvements in the morbidity and mortality of some of the obesity related diseases. However, for other conditions it may take longer than two decades for us to notice an effect. While it is tempting to consider these declines as a financial boon for the country that already spends a high percentage of its GDP on healthcare. However, as the well-known Saturday Night Live pundit Roseanne Roseannadanna often observed, ”it’s always something ... if it’s not one thing it’s another.” There may be other non-obesity conditions that surge to fill the gap, leaving us still with a substantial financial burden for healthcare.
Patients taking GLP-1 agonists lose weight because they feel full and eat less food. While currently the number of patients taking these drugs is relatively small, the effect on this country’s food consumption is too small to calculate. However, let’s assume that 20 years from now half of the obese patients are taking appetite blunting medication. Using today’s statistics this means that 50 million adults will be eating significantly less food. Will the agriculturists have gradually adjusted to produce less food? Will this mean there is more food for the those experiencing “food insecurity”? I doubt it. Most food insecurity seems to be a problem of distribution and inequality, not supply.
Physicians now caution patients taking GLP-1 agonists to eat a healthy and balanced diet. When the drugs are more commonly available, will this caution be heeded by the majority? Will we see a population that may no longer be obese but nonetheless malnourished because of bad choices?
And, finally, in a similar vein, will previously obese individuals suddenly or gradually begin to be more physically active once the appetite blunting medicines have helped them lose weight? Here, I have my doubts. Of course, some leaner individuals begin to take advantage of their new body morphology. But, I fear that old sedentary habits will die very slowly for most, and not at all for many. We have built a vehicle-centric society in which being physically active requires making a conscious effort. Electronic devices and sedentary entertainment options are not going to disappear just because a significant percentage of the population is no longer obese.
So there you have it. I suspect that I am correct about which way some of the winds are blowing as the obesity becomes moves into its treatable “disease” phase. But, as always, I haven’t a clue which way the tide is running.
Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “How to Say No to Your Toddler.” Other than a Littman stethoscope he accepted as a first-year medical student in 1966, Dr. Wilkoff reports having nothing to disclose. Email him at pdnews@mdedge.com.
I am not planning on having a headstone on my grave, or even having a grave for that matter. However, if my heirs decide to ignore my wishes and opt for some pithy observation chiseled into a tastefully sized granite block, I suspect they might choose “He always knew which way the wind was blowing ... but wasn’t so sure about the tides.” Which aptly describes both my navigational deficiencies they have observed here over my six decades on the Maine coast as well as my general inability to predict the future. Nonetheless, I am going to throw caution to the wind and take this opportunity to ponder where obesity in this country will go over the next couple of decades.
In March of last year the London-based World Obesity Federation published its World Obesity Atlas. In the summary the authors predict that based on current trends “obesity will cost the global economy of US $4 trillion of potential income in 2035, nearly 3% of current global domestic product (GDP).” They envision the “rising prevalence of obesity to be steepest among children and adolescents rising from 10% to 20% of the world’s boys during the period 2029 to 2035, and rising fro 8% to 18% of the world’s girls.”
These dire predictions assume no significant measures to reverse this trajectory such as universal health coverage. Nor do the authors attempt to predict the effect of the growing use of GLP-1 agonists. This omission is surprising and somewhat refreshing given the fact that the project was funded by an unrestricted grant from Novo Nordisk, a major producer of one of these drugs.
Unfortunately, I think it is unlikely that over the next couple of decades any large countries who do not already have a functioning universal health care system will find the political will to develop one capable of reversing the trend toward obesity. Certainly, I don’t see it in the cards for this country.
On the other hand, I can foresee the availability and ease of administration for GLP-1 agonists and similar drugs improving over the near term. However, the cost and availability will continue to widen the separation between the haves and the have-nots, both globally and within each country. This will mean that the countries and population subgroups that already experience the bulk of the economic and health consequences of obesity will continue to shoulder an outsized burden of this “disease.”
It is unclear how much this widening of the fat-getting-fatter dynamic will add to the global and national political unrest that already seems to be tracking the effects of climate change. However, I can’t imaging it is going to be a calming or uniting force.
Narrowing our focus from an international to an individual resource-rich country such as the United States, let’s consider what the significant growth in availability and affordability of GLP-1 agonist drugs will mean. There will certainly be short-term improvements in the morbidity and mortality of some of the obesity related diseases. However, for other conditions it may take longer than two decades for us to notice an effect. While it is tempting to consider these declines as a financial boon for the country that already spends a high percentage of its GDP on healthcare. However, as the well-known Saturday Night Live pundit Roseanne Roseannadanna often observed, ”it’s always something ... if it’s not one thing it’s another.” There may be other non-obesity conditions that surge to fill the gap, leaving us still with a substantial financial burden for healthcare.
Patients taking GLP-1 agonists lose weight because they feel full and eat less food. While currently the number of patients taking these drugs is relatively small, the effect on this country’s food consumption is too small to calculate. However, let’s assume that 20 years from now half of the obese patients are taking appetite blunting medication. Using today’s statistics this means that 50 million adults will be eating significantly less food. Will the agriculturists have gradually adjusted to produce less food? Will this mean there is more food for the those experiencing “food insecurity”? I doubt it. Most food insecurity seems to be a problem of distribution and inequality, not supply.
Physicians now caution patients taking GLP-1 agonists to eat a healthy and balanced diet. When the drugs are more commonly available, will this caution be heeded by the majority? Will we see a population that may no longer be obese but nonetheless malnourished because of bad choices?
And, finally, in a similar vein, will previously obese individuals suddenly or gradually begin to be more physically active once the appetite blunting medicines have helped them lose weight? Here, I have my doubts. Of course, some leaner individuals begin to take advantage of their new body morphology. But, I fear that old sedentary habits will die very slowly for most, and not at all for many. We have built a vehicle-centric society in which being physically active requires making a conscious effort. Electronic devices and sedentary entertainment options are not going to disappear just because a significant percentage of the population is no longer obese.
So there you have it. I suspect that I am correct about which way some of the winds are blowing as the obesity becomes moves into its treatable “disease” phase. But, as always, I haven’t a clue which way the tide is running.
Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “How to Say No to Your Toddler.” Other than a Littman stethoscope he accepted as a first-year medical student in 1966, Dr. Wilkoff reports having nothing to disclose. Email him at pdnews@mdedge.com.
Thanks, But No Thanks
She was young, neatly dressed, professional. I don’t remember her name, though she handed me a business card as soon as I stepped up to the front window.
I thought she was a new drug rep to my territory, and I usually try to say “hi” when they first come in. They’re just doing their job, and I don’t mind chatting for a few minutes.
But she, as it turned out, was here for a whole new thing. Taking out a glossy brochure, she dived into a spiel about my offering a medical credit card through my office. I would get paid quickly, I might even get some extra money from patient interest payments, it is convenient for patients, win-win situation all around, yadda yadda yadda.
I smiled, thanked her for coming in, but told her this wasn’t a good fit for my practice.
I’m well aware that keeping a small practice afloat ain’t easy. Medicine is one of the few fields (unless you’re strictly doing cash pay) where we can’t raise prices to keep up with inflation. Well, we can, but what we get paid won’t change. That’s the nature of dealing with Medicare and insurance. What you charge and what you’ll get (and have to accept) are generally not the same.
But even so, I try to stick with what I know — being a neurologist. I’m not here to offer a range of financial services. I have neither the time, nor interest, to run a patient’s copay while trying to sell them on a medical credit card.
For that matter I’m not going to set up shop selling vitamin supplements, hangover-curing infusions, endorsing products on X, or any of the other dubious things touted as “thinking outside the box” ways to increase revenue.
I suppose some will say I’m old-fashioned, or this is why my practice operates on a thin margin, or that I’m focusing more on patients than business. I don’t mind. Caring for patients is why I’m here.
I also hear the argument that if I don’t market a medical credit card (or whatever), someone else will. That’s fine. Let them. I wish them good luck. It’s just not for me.
Like I’ve said in the past, I’m an old dog, but a happy one. I’ll leave the new tricks to someone else.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Arizona.
She was young, neatly dressed, professional. I don’t remember her name, though she handed me a business card as soon as I stepped up to the front window.
I thought she was a new drug rep to my territory, and I usually try to say “hi” when they first come in. They’re just doing their job, and I don’t mind chatting for a few minutes.
But she, as it turned out, was here for a whole new thing. Taking out a glossy brochure, she dived into a spiel about my offering a medical credit card through my office. I would get paid quickly, I might even get some extra money from patient interest payments, it is convenient for patients, win-win situation all around, yadda yadda yadda.
I smiled, thanked her for coming in, but told her this wasn’t a good fit for my practice.
I’m well aware that keeping a small practice afloat ain’t easy. Medicine is one of the few fields (unless you’re strictly doing cash pay) where we can’t raise prices to keep up with inflation. Well, we can, but what we get paid won’t change. That’s the nature of dealing with Medicare and insurance. What you charge and what you’ll get (and have to accept) are generally not the same.
But even so, I try to stick with what I know — being a neurologist. I’m not here to offer a range of financial services. I have neither the time, nor interest, to run a patient’s copay while trying to sell them on a medical credit card.
For that matter I’m not going to set up shop selling vitamin supplements, hangover-curing infusions, endorsing products on X, or any of the other dubious things touted as “thinking outside the box” ways to increase revenue.
I suppose some will say I’m old-fashioned, or this is why my practice operates on a thin margin, or that I’m focusing more on patients than business. I don’t mind. Caring for patients is why I’m here.
I also hear the argument that if I don’t market a medical credit card (or whatever), someone else will. That’s fine. Let them. I wish them good luck. It’s just not for me.
Like I’ve said in the past, I’m an old dog, but a happy one. I’ll leave the new tricks to someone else.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Arizona.
She was young, neatly dressed, professional. I don’t remember her name, though she handed me a business card as soon as I stepped up to the front window.
I thought she was a new drug rep to my territory, and I usually try to say “hi” when they first come in. They’re just doing their job, and I don’t mind chatting for a few minutes.
But she, as it turned out, was here for a whole new thing. Taking out a glossy brochure, she dived into a spiel about my offering a medical credit card through my office. I would get paid quickly, I might even get some extra money from patient interest payments, it is convenient for patients, win-win situation all around, yadda yadda yadda.
I smiled, thanked her for coming in, but told her this wasn’t a good fit for my practice.
I’m well aware that keeping a small practice afloat ain’t easy. Medicine is one of the few fields (unless you’re strictly doing cash pay) where we can’t raise prices to keep up with inflation. Well, we can, but what we get paid won’t change. That’s the nature of dealing with Medicare and insurance. What you charge and what you’ll get (and have to accept) are generally not the same.
But even so, I try to stick with what I know — being a neurologist. I’m not here to offer a range of financial services. I have neither the time, nor interest, to run a patient’s copay while trying to sell them on a medical credit card.
For that matter I’m not going to set up shop selling vitamin supplements, hangover-curing infusions, endorsing products on X, or any of the other dubious things touted as “thinking outside the box” ways to increase revenue.
I suppose some will say I’m old-fashioned, or this is why my practice operates on a thin margin, or that I’m focusing more on patients than business. I don’t mind. Caring for patients is why I’m here.
I also hear the argument that if I don’t market a medical credit card (or whatever), someone else will. That’s fine. Let them. I wish them good luck. It’s just not for me.
Like I’ve said in the past, I’m an old dog, but a happy one. I’ll leave the new tricks to someone else.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Arizona.
GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in Endoscopy
Dear colleagues,
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are revolutionizing the field of obesity management and are now common medication in patients presenting for endoscopy. With their effect on gastric emptying, the American Society of Anesthesiologists has recommended cessation of such agents prior to endoscopy. However, is this necessary in patients who have been on a clear liquid diet in preparation for a colonoscopy or who are undergoing moderate sedation? Additionally, there are risks to holding GLP-1 RAs, especially for those taking them for glycemic control.
In this issue of Perspectives, Dr. Thomas Hickey and Dr. Ryan Pouliot discuss the nuances of pre-procedure cessation from an anesthesiologist’s perspective. Dr. Jana Al Hashash provides a gastroenterologist’s view, also highlighting the current paucity of evidence guiding management strategies. We hope these pieces will help your discussions in managing GLP-1 RAs prior to endoscopy in your own practice. We welcome your thoughts on this issue on X @AGA_GIHN.
Gyanprakash A. Ketwaroo, MD, MSc, is associate professor of medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, and chief of endoscopy at West Haven (Connecticut) VA Medical Center. He is an associate editor for GI & Hepatology News.
GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in Endoscopy
BY THOMAS R. HICKEY, MD; RYAN C. POULIOT, MD
In response to the recent dramatic increase in GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) prescribing and at the urging of its membership, the American Society of Anesthesiologists issued guidance on the preoperative management of these medications. The big takeaways were recommendations that patients on daily dosing should hold their dose on the day of a procedure, and that patients on weekly dosing should hold their dose a week prior.
The ASA guidance recognizes the sparse available evidence base and makes its recommendations in the spirit of patient safety, presuming that a more conservative approach will mitigate risk of rare but potentially devastating pulmonary aspiration, until prospective evidence informs the ideal approach. Until that approach is defined, whether more or less conservative, it is expected that anesthesiologists will adhere to their professional society’s recommendations.
Meanwhile, the American Gastroenterological Association Institute Rapid Clinical Practice Update (CPU) makes little distinction in the management of the endoscopy patient on GLP-1RA. A key refrain throughout the CPU is that there is no actionable data to justify the harms that may come to patients from stopping these medications (e.g., withdrawal of benefit to glycemic control and cardiovascular health) and in delaying or canceling procedures, which could lead to further stress on an overburdened workforce and add complexity to periprocedural processes.
Anesthesiologists should rightly consider themselves leaders in patient safety. As such, when a serious safety concern emerges they should be compelled to caution despite the possibility of other harms, until their concerns are mitigated by robust clinical evidence. Thankfully these questions are quite amenable to research, and prospective trials are already reporting compelling data that residual gastric contents, clearly a risk factor for aspiration, are increased in GLP-1RA groups compared to controls. This is evident even while following recommended fasting times and abstinences from these medications, and adjusting for confounders (e.g., age, diabetes, body mass index).1,2 It logically follows that large studies are likely to find an increased aspiration risk in GLP-1RA populations. Indeed, this increased risk has already been identified in a large retrospective study of endoscopy patients.3 These findings support the ASA’s caution. Additional data indicate that standard fasting guidelines in this patient population may be inadequate.4
The ASA guidance does not differentiate between patients undergoing surgery in the operating room and procedures in the endoscopy suite. Part of our task is to provide perspective on whether GLP-1RA management deserves different treatment for endoscopy patients. We can only speculate pending further data. For example, a prolonged fasting period including a full day of clears, with or without a bowel prep, intuitively protects against pulmonary aspiration. However, this is unlikely to mitigate an anesthesiologist’s concern that administration of propofol, frequently to a state of general anesthesia with an unsecured airway and resulting in a patient devoid of airway protection reflexes, is an inherently higher risk scenario for aspiration compared to surgery in the operating room with a secured airway. We also expect prospective trials will confirm retrospective findings that both propofol and procedures including upper endoscopy confer a higher risk for aspiration compared with conscious sedation and colonoscopy.3
We suggest a reasonable approach based on society guidance and existing evidence, pending additional data. Endoscopists and anesthesiologists should continue this important conversation with a specific focus on risks and benefits in order to decrease conflict and achieve consensus. If anesthesia care is desired, the patient instructions should be updated to reflect ASA guidance. Special attention should be paid to the “gray area,” for example those who did not hold the GLP-1 agonist as recommended.
This category of patients can be considered on a case-by-case basis by the anesthesiologist, proceduralist, and patient, with a range of options including: proceeding with endoscopist-directed sedation, proceeding with anesthesiology-administered conscious sedation, rescheduling the procedure, and proceeding with general anesthesia with rapid-sequence intubation. In addition to patient factors (e.g., GI symptoms, urgency of procedure), this consideration would vary based on local resources (e.g., presence or absence of anesthesia support staff, emergency airway equipment, nursing staff to comfort recovering patients after general endotracheal anesthesia), and aspiration risk inherent to the procedure (e.g., upper and or combination upper and lower endoscopy vs colonoscopy alone). Proficiency and availability of point-of-care ultrasound are rapidly increasing; adoption of a pre-procedure gastric ultrasound to assess for solids, thick liquids, or large volume of clear liquids may provide a less nuanced, more objective means to address this question.
While the question of periprocedural management of these medications has generated intense interest among anesthesiologists and endoscopists alike, it is worth noting the net positive health effects these drugs are likely to have on our patients, including improved glycemic control, significant weight loss, and decreased cardiovascular risk. We are eager to see whether these benefits translate into an overall improvement in periprocedural outcomes, including in our endoscopy patients.
Dr. Hickey is assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. Dr. Pouliot is assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire.
References
1. Sherwin M et al. Influence of semaglutide use on the presence of residual gastric solids on gastric ultrasound: A prospective observational study in volunteers without obesity recently started on semaglutide. Can J Anaesth. 2023 Aug. doi:10.1007/s12630-023-02549-5.
2. Wu F et al. Association of glucagon-like peptide receptor 1 agonist therapy with the presence of gastric contents in fasting patients undergoing endoscopy under anesthesia care: A historical cohort study. Can J Anaesth. 2024 Mar 14. doi:10.1007/s12630-024-02719-z.
3. Yeo YH et al. Increased risk of aspiration pneumonia associated with endoscopic procedures among patients with glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist use. Gastroenterology. 2024 Mar 27. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2024.03.015.
4. Sen S et al. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist use and residual gastric content before anesthesia. JAMA Surg. 2024 Mar 6. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2024.0111.
The Impact of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists On Endoscopy
BY JANA G. AL HASHASH, MD, MSc, AGAF
Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) have been approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus since 2005. They have become more widely used over the last couple of years for weight loss in individuals who suffer from adiposity-based chronic disease.
The remarkable positive effects that GLP-1 RAs have had on weight loss as well as other medical conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease, among many others, have gained these drugs more traction. Even in situations when insurance companies deny coverage of GLP-1 RAs, many patients have been resorting to other routes to obtain these medications, commonly by purchasing them from online compounding pharmacies.
As such, more and more of our patients who present to endoscopy suites across the country are on one of the available GLP-1 RAs. This has necessitated endoscopists and anesthesiologists to become more familiar with the impact of GLP-1 RAs on patients undergoing endoscopic procedures.
Similar to narcotics, GLP-1 RAs affect gastrointestinal motility and delay gastric emptying. Common side effects of patients receiving GLP-1 RAs include nausea, vomiting, and increased satiety. Patients on GLP-1 RAs for weight loss may also have other contributing risk factors for gastroparesis such as diabetes mellitus which may further delay gastric emptying.
For endoscopists, our goals are to achieve the highest quality examination in the safest way possible. As such, being on a GLP-1 RAs could compromise both goals; but to date, the exact impact of these drugs on exam quality and patient safety is yet to be determined.
Studies have shown that patients on GLP-1 RAs have increased gastric residue on upper endoscopy compared with patients not on GLP-1 RAs. The effect of this increased residue on aspiration risk and clinically meaningful patient outcomes is being investigated, and the available published data are conflicting. Additionally, other published cases have shown that GLP-1 RAs are associated with increased solid gastric residue but not liquids, and that symptoms of dyspepsia and abdominal bloating are associated with an increased probability of residual gastric content.
Given the valid concern for increased gastric content residue, anesthesia specialists became more strict about which GLP-1 RA users they would agree to sedate, which ones they would intubate, and which procedures they would cancel. As one would imagine, cancellation and intubation rates have been increasing, and these have affected the schedules of patients, their families, and physicians.
The concern with GLP-1 RAs does not only apply to upper endoscopies, but also impacts colonoscopies. In addition to the concerns of aspiration and pneumonia, studies have shown that the use of GLP-1 RAs may be associated with a lower quality of bowel preparation and higher need for repeat colonoscopy. A study, which I believe is critical, showed that patients on GLP-1 RAs who were scheduled for upper endoscopy and colonoscopy were found to have less gastric residue and less risk of complications when compared with patients who were only having an upper endoscopy. This study sets the stage for a modified prep for patients on GLP-1 RAs prior to their procedures, since patients who received a modified/extended liquid diet on the day prior to their procedure (those preparing for a colonoscopy), had a protective effect against retained gastric content.
Clearly, there is a knowledge gap and a need for guidance. In our recently published AGA Rapid CPU, we advised an individualized approach to managing patients on GLP-1 RAs in the pre-endoscopic setting. Factors to consider are the indication for the GLP-1 RAs, the dose being used, duration of use, and indication and urgency of the procedure, as well as the presence of symptoms in the preoperative area (i.e., do patients have any nausea, vomiting, dyspepsia, etc.). Also an important factor is the facility in which the endoscopy will be taking place, as certain centers have the capacity to act fast and prevent complications or address them in a timely manner while other centers may not be prepared.
We proposed that a modified liquid diet be considered in patients prior to their endoscopies by advising patients to adhere to a clear liquid diet the day before the procedure, as this may help decrease gastric residue and be the safest and best approach for patients on GLP-1 RAs. Of course, it is important to note that more prospective studies are needed to inform clinical practice, and until then, we will have to individualize our approach and continue to put patient safety first.
Dr. Al Hashash is a gastroenterologist and associate professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida.
Dear colleagues,
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are revolutionizing the field of obesity management and are now common medication in patients presenting for endoscopy. With their effect on gastric emptying, the American Society of Anesthesiologists has recommended cessation of such agents prior to endoscopy. However, is this necessary in patients who have been on a clear liquid diet in preparation for a colonoscopy or who are undergoing moderate sedation? Additionally, there are risks to holding GLP-1 RAs, especially for those taking them for glycemic control.
In this issue of Perspectives, Dr. Thomas Hickey and Dr. Ryan Pouliot discuss the nuances of pre-procedure cessation from an anesthesiologist’s perspective. Dr. Jana Al Hashash provides a gastroenterologist’s view, also highlighting the current paucity of evidence guiding management strategies. We hope these pieces will help your discussions in managing GLP-1 RAs prior to endoscopy in your own practice. We welcome your thoughts on this issue on X @AGA_GIHN.
Gyanprakash A. Ketwaroo, MD, MSc, is associate professor of medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, and chief of endoscopy at West Haven (Connecticut) VA Medical Center. He is an associate editor for GI & Hepatology News.
GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in Endoscopy
BY THOMAS R. HICKEY, MD; RYAN C. POULIOT, MD
In response to the recent dramatic increase in GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) prescribing and at the urging of its membership, the American Society of Anesthesiologists issued guidance on the preoperative management of these medications. The big takeaways were recommendations that patients on daily dosing should hold their dose on the day of a procedure, and that patients on weekly dosing should hold their dose a week prior.
The ASA guidance recognizes the sparse available evidence base and makes its recommendations in the spirit of patient safety, presuming that a more conservative approach will mitigate risk of rare but potentially devastating pulmonary aspiration, until prospective evidence informs the ideal approach. Until that approach is defined, whether more or less conservative, it is expected that anesthesiologists will adhere to their professional society’s recommendations.
Meanwhile, the American Gastroenterological Association Institute Rapid Clinical Practice Update (CPU) makes little distinction in the management of the endoscopy patient on GLP-1RA. A key refrain throughout the CPU is that there is no actionable data to justify the harms that may come to patients from stopping these medications (e.g., withdrawal of benefit to glycemic control and cardiovascular health) and in delaying or canceling procedures, which could lead to further stress on an overburdened workforce and add complexity to periprocedural processes.
Anesthesiologists should rightly consider themselves leaders in patient safety. As such, when a serious safety concern emerges they should be compelled to caution despite the possibility of other harms, until their concerns are mitigated by robust clinical evidence. Thankfully these questions are quite amenable to research, and prospective trials are already reporting compelling data that residual gastric contents, clearly a risk factor for aspiration, are increased in GLP-1RA groups compared to controls. This is evident even while following recommended fasting times and abstinences from these medications, and adjusting for confounders (e.g., age, diabetes, body mass index).1,2 It logically follows that large studies are likely to find an increased aspiration risk in GLP-1RA populations. Indeed, this increased risk has already been identified in a large retrospective study of endoscopy patients.3 These findings support the ASA’s caution. Additional data indicate that standard fasting guidelines in this patient population may be inadequate.4
The ASA guidance does not differentiate between patients undergoing surgery in the operating room and procedures in the endoscopy suite. Part of our task is to provide perspective on whether GLP-1RA management deserves different treatment for endoscopy patients. We can only speculate pending further data. For example, a prolonged fasting period including a full day of clears, with or without a bowel prep, intuitively protects against pulmonary aspiration. However, this is unlikely to mitigate an anesthesiologist’s concern that administration of propofol, frequently to a state of general anesthesia with an unsecured airway and resulting in a patient devoid of airway protection reflexes, is an inherently higher risk scenario for aspiration compared to surgery in the operating room with a secured airway. We also expect prospective trials will confirm retrospective findings that both propofol and procedures including upper endoscopy confer a higher risk for aspiration compared with conscious sedation and colonoscopy.3
We suggest a reasonable approach based on society guidance and existing evidence, pending additional data. Endoscopists and anesthesiologists should continue this important conversation with a specific focus on risks and benefits in order to decrease conflict and achieve consensus. If anesthesia care is desired, the patient instructions should be updated to reflect ASA guidance. Special attention should be paid to the “gray area,” for example those who did not hold the GLP-1 agonist as recommended.
This category of patients can be considered on a case-by-case basis by the anesthesiologist, proceduralist, and patient, with a range of options including: proceeding with endoscopist-directed sedation, proceeding with anesthesiology-administered conscious sedation, rescheduling the procedure, and proceeding with general anesthesia with rapid-sequence intubation. In addition to patient factors (e.g., GI symptoms, urgency of procedure), this consideration would vary based on local resources (e.g., presence or absence of anesthesia support staff, emergency airway equipment, nursing staff to comfort recovering patients after general endotracheal anesthesia), and aspiration risk inherent to the procedure (e.g., upper and or combination upper and lower endoscopy vs colonoscopy alone). Proficiency and availability of point-of-care ultrasound are rapidly increasing; adoption of a pre-procedure gastric ultrasound to assess for solids, thick liquids, or large volume of clear liquids may provide a less nuanced, more objective means to address this question.
While the question of periprocedural management of these medications has generated intense interest among anesthesiologists and endoscopists alike, it is worth noting the net positive health effects these drugs are likely to have on our patients, including improved glycemic control, significant weight loss, and decreased cardiovascular risk. We are eager to see whether these benefits translate into an overall improvement in periprocedural outcomes, including in our endoscopy patients.
Dr. Hickey is assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. Dr. Pouliot is assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire.
References
1. Sherwin M et al. Influence of semaglutide use on the presence of residual gastric solids on gastric ultrasound: A prospective observational study in volunteers without obesity recently started on semaglutide. Can J Anaesth. 2023 Aug. doi:10.1007/s12630-023-02549-5.
2. Wu F et al. Association of glucagon-like peptide receptor 1 agonist therapy with the presence of gastric contents in fasting patients undergoing endoscopy under anesthesia care: A historical cohort study. Can J Anaesth. 2024 Mar 14. doi:10.1007/s12630-024-02719-z.
3. Yeo YH et al. Increased risk of aspiration pneumonia associated with endoscopic procedures among patients with glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist use. Gastroenterology. 2024 Mar 27. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2024.03.015.
4. Sen S et al. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist use and residual gastric content before anesthesia. JAMA Surg. 2024 Mar 6. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2024.0111.
The Impact of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists On Endoscopy
BY JANA G. AL HASHASH, MD, MSc, AGAF
Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) have been approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus since 2005. They have become more widely used over the last couple of years for weight loss in individuals who suffer from adiposity-based chronic disease.
The remarkable positive effects that GLP-1 RAs have had on weight loss as well as other medical conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease, among many others, have gained these drugs more traction. Even in situations when insurance companies deny coverage of GLP-1 RAs, many patients have been resorting to other routes to obtain these medications, commonly by purchasing them from online compounding pharmacies.
As such, more and more of our patients who present to endoscopy suites across the country are on one of the available GLP-1 RAs. This has necessitated endoscopists and anesthesiologists to become more familiar with the impact of GLP-1 RAs on patients undergoing endoscopic procedures.
Similar to narcotics, GLP-1 RAs affect gastrointestinal motility and delay gastric emptying. Common side effects of patients receiving GLP-1 RAs include nausea, vomiting, and increased satiety. Patients on GLP-1 RAs for weight loss may also have other contributing risk factors for gastroparesis such as diabetes mellitus which may further delay gastric emptying.
For endoscopists, our goals are to achieve the highest quality examination in the safest way possible. As such, being on a GLP-1 RAs could compromise both goals; but to date, the exact impact of these drugs on exam quality and patient safety is yet to be determined.
Studies have shown that patients on GLP-1 RAs have increased gastric residue on upper endoscopy compared with patients not on GLP-1 RAs. The effect of this increased residue on aspiration risk and clinically meaningful patient outcomes is being investigated, and the available published data are conflicting. Additionally, other published cases have shown that GLP-1 RAs are associated with increased solid gastric residue but not liquids, and that symptoms of dyspepsia and abdominal bloating are associated with an increased probability of residual gastric content.
Given the valid concern for increased gastric content residue, anesthesia specialists became more strict about which GLP-1 RA users they would agree to sedate, which ones they would intubate, and which procedures they would cancel. As one would imagine, cancellation and intubation rates have been increasing, and these have affected the schedules of patients, their families, and physicians.
The concern with GLP-1 RAs does not only apply to upper endoscopies, but also impacts colonoscopies. In addition to the concerns of aspiration and pneumonia, studies have shown that the use of GLP-1 RAs may be associated with a lower quality of bowel preparation and higher need for repeat colonoscopy. A study, which I believe is critical, showed that patients on GLP-1 RAs who were scheduled for upper endoscopy and colonoscopy were found to have less gastric residue and less risk of complications when compared with patients who were only having an upper endoscopy. This study sets the stage for a modified prep for patients on GLP-1 RAs prior to their procedures, since patients who received a modified/extended liquid diet on the day prior to their procedure (those preparing for a colonoscopy), had a protective effect against retained gastric content.
Clearly, there is a knowledge gap and a need for guidance. In our recently published AGA Rapid CPU, we advised an individualized approach to managing patients on GLP-1 RAs in the pre-endoscopic setting. Factors to consider are the indication for the GLP-1 RAs, the dose being used, duration of use, and indication and urgency of the procedure, as well as the presence of symptoms in the preoperative area (i.e., do patients have any nausea, vomiting, dyspepsia, etc.). Also an important factor is the facility in which the endoscopy will be taking place, as certain centers have the capacity to act fast and prevent complications or address them in a timely manner while other centers may not be prepared.
We proposed that a modified liquid diet be considered in patients prior to their endoscopies by advising patients to adhere to a clear liquid diet the day before the procedure, as this may help decrease gastric residue and be the safest and best approach for patients on GLP-1 RAs. Of course, it is important to note that more prospective studies are needed to inform clinical practice, and until then, we will have to individualize our approach and continue to put patient safety first.
Dr. Al Hashash is a gastroenterologist and associate professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida.
Dear colleagues,
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are revolutionizing the field of obesity management and are now common medication in patients presenting for endoscopy. With their effect on gastric emptying, the American Society of Anesthesiologists has recommended cessation of such agents prior to endoscopy. However, is this necessary in patients who have been on a clear liquid diet in preparation for a colonoscopy or who are undergoing moderate sedation? Additionally, there are risks to holding GLP-1 RAs, especially for those taking them for glycemic control.
In this issue of Perspectives, Dr. Thomas Hickey and Dr. Ryan Pouliot discuss the nuances of pre-procedure cessation from an anesthesiologist’s perspective. Dr. Jana Al Hashash provides a gastroenterologist’s view, also highlighting the current paucity of evidence guiding management strategies. We hope these pieces will help your discussions in managing GLP-1 RAs prior to endoscopy in your own practice. We welcome your thoughts on this issue on X @AGA_GIHN.
Gyanprakash A. Ketwaroo, MD, MSc, is associate professor of medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, and chief of endoscopy at West Haven (Connecticut) VA Medical Center. He is an associate editor for GI & Hepatology News.
GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in Endoscopy
BY THOMAS R. HICKEY, MD; RYAN C. POULIOT, MD
In response to the recent dramatic increase in GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) prescribing and at the urging of its membership, the American Society of Anesthesiologists issued guidance on the preoperative management of these medications. The big takeaways were recommendations that patients on daily dosing should hold their dose on the day of a procedure, and that patients on weekly dosing should hold their dose a week prior.
The ASA guidance recognizes the sparse available evidence base and makes its recommendations in the spirit of patient safety, presuming that a more conservative approach will mitigate risk of rare but potentially devastating pulmonary aspiration, until prospective evidence informs the ideal approach. Until that approach is defined, whether more or less conservative, it is expected that anesthesiologists will adhere to their professional society’s recommendations.
Meanwhile, the American Gastroenterological Association Institute Rapid Clinical Practice Update (CPU) makes little distinction in the management of the endoscopy patient on GLP-1RA. A key refrain throughout the CPU is that there is no actionable data to justify the harms that may come to patients from stopping these medications (e.g., withdrawal of benefit to glycemic control and cardiovascular health) and in delaying or canceling procedures, which could lead to further stress on an overburdened workforce and add complexity to periprocedural processes.
Anesthesiologists should rightly consider themselves leaders in patient safety. As such, when a serious safety concern emerges they should be compelled to caution despite the possibility of other harms, until their concerns are mitigated by robust clinical evidence. Thankfully these questions are quite amenable to research, and prospective trials are already reporting compelling data that residual gastric contents, clearly a risk factor for aspiration, are increased in GLP-1RA groups compared to controls. This is evident even while following recommended fasting times and abstinences from these medications, and adjusting for confounders (e.g., age, diabetes, body mass index).1,2 It logically follows that large studies are likely to find an increased aspiration risk in GLP-1RA populations. Indeed, this increased risk has already been identified in a large retrospective study of endoscopy patients.3 These findings support the ASA’s caution. Additional data indicate that standard fasting guidelines in this patient population may be inadequate.4
The ASA guidance does not differentiate between patients undergoing surgery in the operating room and procedures in the endoscopy suite. Part of our task is to provide perspective on whether GLP-1RA management deserves different treatment for endoscopy patients. We can only speculate pending further data. For example, a prolonged fasting period including a full day of clears, with or without a bowel prep, intuitively protects against pulmonary aspiration. However, this is unlikely to mitigate an anesthesiologist’s concern that administration of propofol, frequently to a state of general anesthesia with an unsecured airway and resulting in a patient devoid of airway protection reflexes, is an inherently higher risk scenario for aspiration compared to surgery in the operating room with a secured airway. We also expect prospective trials will confirm retrospective findings that both propofol and procedures including upper endoscopy confer a higher risk for aspiration compared with conscious sedation and colonoscopy.3
We suggest a reasonable approach based on society guidance and existing evidence, pending additional data. Endoscopists and anesthesiologists should continue this important conversation with a specific focus on risks and benefits in order to decrease conflict and achieve consensus. If anesthesia care is desired, the patient instructions should be updated to reflect ASA guidance. Special attention should be paid to the “gray area,” for example those who did not hold the GLP-1 agonist as recommended.
This category of patients can be considered on a case-by-case basis by the anesthesiologist, proceduralist, and patient, with a range of options including: proceeding with endoscopist-directed sedation, proceeding with anesthesiology-administered conscious sedation, rescheduling the procedure, and proceeding with general anesthesia with rapid-sequence intubation. In addition to patient factors (e.g., GI symptoms, urgency of procedure), this consideration would vary based on local resources (e.g., presence or absence of anesthesia support staff, emergency airway equipment, nursing staff to comfort recovering patients after general endotracheal anesthesia), and aspiration risk inherent to the procedure (e.g., upper and or combination upper and lower endoscopy vs colonoscopy alone). Proficiency and availability of point-of-care ultrasound are rapidly increasing; adoption of a pre-procedure gastric ultrasound to assess for solids, thick liquids, or large volume of clear liquids may provide a less nuanced, more objective means to address this question.
While the question of periprocedural management of these medications has generated intense interest among anesthesiologists and endoscopists alike, it is worth noting the net positive health effects these drugs are likely to have on our patients, including improved glycemic control, significant weight loss, and decreased cardiovascular risk. We are eager to see whether these benefits translate into an overall improvement in periprocedural outcomes, including in our endoscopy patients.
Dr. Hickey is assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. Dr. Pouliot is assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire.
References
1. Sherwin M et al. Influence of semaglutide use on the presence of residual gastric solids on gastric ultrasound: A prospective observational study in volunteers without obesity recently started on semaglutide. Can J Anaesth. 2023 Aug. doi:10.1007/s12630-023-02549-5.
2. Wu F et al. Association of glucagon-like peptide receptor 1 agonist therapy with the presence of gastric contents in fasting patients undergoing endoscopy under anesthesia care: A historical cohort study. Can J Anaesth. 2024 Mar 14. doi:10.1007/s12630-024-02719-z.
3. Yeo YH et al. Increased risk of aspiration pneumonia associated with endoscopic procedures among patients with glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist use. Gastroenterology. 2024 Mar 27. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2024.03.015.
4. Sen S et al. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist use and residual gastric content before anesthesia. JAMA Surg. 2024 Mar 6. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2024.0111.
The Impact of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists On Endoscopy
BY JANA G. AL HASHASH, MD, MSc, AGAF
Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) have been approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus since 2005. They have become more widely used over the last couple of years for weight loss in individuals who suffer from adiposity-based chronic disease.
The remarkable positive effects that GLP-1 RAs have had on weight loss as well as other medical conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease, among many others, have gained these drugs more traction. Even in situations when insurance companies deny coverage of GLP-1 RAs, many patients have been resorting to other routes to obtain these medications, commonly by purchasing them from online compounding pharmacies.
As such, more and more of our patients who present to endoscopy suites across the country are on one of the available GLP-1 RAs. This has necessitated endoscopists and anesthesiologists to become more familiar with the impact of GLP-1 RAs on patients undergoing endoscopic procedures.
Similar to narcotics, GLP-1 RAs affect gastrointestinal motility and delay gastric emptying. Common side effects of patients receiving GLP-1 RAs include nausea, vomiting, and increased satiety. Patients on GLP-1 RAs for weight loss may also have other contributing risk factors for gastroparesis such as diabetes mellitus which may further delay gastric emptying.
For endoscopists, our goals are to achieve the highest quality examination in the safest way possible. As such, being on a GLP-1 RAs could compromise both goals; but to date, the exact impact of these drugs on exam quality and patient safety is yet to be determined.
Studies have shown that patients on GLP-1 RAs have increased gastric residue on upper endoscopy compared with patients not on GLP-1 RAs. The effect of this increased residue on aspiration risk and clinically meaningful patient outcomes is being investigated, and the available published data are conflicting. Additionally, other published cases have shown that GLP-1 RAs are associated with increased solid gastric residue but not liquids, and that symptoms of dyspepsia and abdominal bloating are associated with an increased probability of residual gastric content.
Given the valid concern for increased gastric content residue, anesthesia specialists became more strict about which GLP-1 RA users they would agree to sedate, which ones they would intubate, and which procedures they would cancel. As one would imagine, cancellation and intubation rates have been increasing, and these have affected the schedules of patients, their families, and physicians.
The concern with GLP-1 RAs does not only apply to upper endoscopies, but also impacts colonoscopies. In addition to the concerns of aspiration and pneumonia, studies have shown that the use of GLP-1 RAs may be associated with a lower quality of bowel preparation and higher need for repeat colonoscopy. A study, which I believe is critical, showed that patients on GLP-1 RAs who were scheduled for upper endoscopy and colonoscopy were found to have less gastric residue and less risk of complications when compared with patients who were only having an upper endoscopy. This study sets the stage for a modified prep for patients on GLP-1 RAs prior to their procedures, since patients who received a modified/extended liquid diet on the day prior to their procedure (those preparing for a colonoscopy), had a protective effect against retained gastric content.
Clearly, there is a knowledge gap and a need for guidance. In our recently published AGA Rapid CPU, we advised an individualized approach to managing patients on GLP-1 RAs in the pre-endoscopic setting. Factors to consider are the indication for the GLP-1 RAs, the dose being used, duration of use, and indication and urgency of the procedure, as well as the presence of symptoms in the preoperative area (i.e., do patients have any nausea, vomiting, dyspepsia, etc.). Also an important factor is the facility in which the endoscopy will be taking place, as certain centers have the capacity to act fast and prevent complications or address them in a timely manner while other centers may not be prepared.
We proposed that a modified liquid diet be considered in patients prior to their endoscopies by advising patients to adhere to a clear liquid diet the day before the procedure, as this may help decrease gastric residue and be the safest and best approach for patients on GLP-1 RAs. Of course, it is important to note that more prospective studies are needed to inform clinical practice, and until then, we will have to individualize our approach and continue to put patient safety first.
Dr. Al Hashash is a gastroenterologist and associate professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida.
How Well Do Clinicians Support Patients’ Sexual Health?
From adolescence onward, the need for sexual health is particularly important. Yet, information and healthcare services are limited, which often leaves patients in distress and subject to misconceptions. What are the specific issues related to sexuality in adolescence, middle age, and beyond? This news organization interviewed Carol Burté, MD, a specialist in sexual medicine from Monaco.
Question: Regarding young individuals, what about sex education in schools?
Dr. Burté: The French law of 2018 specifies that at least three annual sessions must be devoted to sex education in elementary school, middle school, and high school.
In practice, this is not always the case, and interventions are very focused on prevention and rules. Sexuality is almost always absent from the program. Sexuality means: What does it mean to have desire? How does pleasure work? At what age do we have sex? etc. Young people receive prevention advice, but the link with sexuality is not made.
Sexuality remains taboo. You know, like in books: “They got married and had many children ...” End of the story, we don’t know more [laughs].
Question: And outside the school setting, do doctors sufficiently address sexual health issues with adolescents?
Dr. Burté: Rarely. I understand that a general practitioner has little time, but they can still ask the young person if they have any questions. They can refer them to someone or provide reading recommendations. Regarding sex education on the Internet, there are many well-made websites, such as the one by the national education system.
Also, it is important to give young people lifestyle advice to combat overweight, sedentary behavior, etc., by explaining to them that these factors can lead to sexual disorders later as well as infertility.
Another very important point: There is an inequality between boys and girls, but this time, to the disadvantage of boys. We have a sexual health consultation dedicated to young girls for the pill, but no one examines the boys. However, testicular cancer or undescended testicles can occur. I think we really need to change things and establish a clinical examination for boys in adolescence.
Question: More and more young people identify as asexual. What do you think of this?
Dr. Burté: People who identify as asexual represent about 1% of the population. These are individuals who are not attracted to having sexual relationships with someone. This does not prevent them from having a boyfriend, a girlfriend, masturbating, etc. It is sexual intercourse that does not interest them. These young people often say they have done it all. They have seen a lot of images, viewed sexuality as gymnastics with all the positions, tricks. They are jaded. Also, when you are faced with an image that provides a very strong and rapid stimulation, human relationships seem much more difficult because, obviously, you will never reproduce that sensation when you are with your partner with whom you must connect. The relationship is no longer emotional and shared. Yet, sexuality is emotional, relational, intellectual.
I think people go through phases. At a certain point, they feel asexual, but they can change their minds and think differently if they have real encounters, encounters that are increasingly difficult. Today, we are witnessing a loss of confidence. Young people, but also others, want to protect themselves from everything, especially from falling in love, not get back into a relationship because it is constraining.
Question: Data show that young people are exposed to pornography at an increasingly early age. Is this a problem for their future sexuality?
Dr. Burté: The exposure to pornography at an early age, around 11 years old, has only been a reality for the past decade. It is too early to say how it will impact their sexuality. When examining the literature on this subject, some publications indicate that the consequences can be dramatic for children. Others show that children can distinguish between reality and fantasy.
Whenever I see young people in consultation, I ask them whether they feel pornography has helped or hindered them, whether it is the cause of the issue they are facing. I would say that, other than those who have viewed pornography under duress, which is of the order of violence, pornography does not seem to pose a problem. It can even provide certain knowledge.
Question: What about sexual violence in children? What are the consequences?
Dr. Burté: In sexual medicine, this is one of the questions we ask systematically because it is very common. It is important to keep in mind that this not only affects girls; boys are also sexually abused. The consequences are dramatic in terms of psychosexual development. Each case is different.
Question: At the other end of life, is it “normal” to have sexual disorders at a certain age? Should we resign ourselves?
Dr. Burté: When it comes to sexuality, people have many misconceptions and beliefs that are conveyed through media and the Internet. One of them is to believe that because we are aging, we cannot have a proper sexuality. Sexuality slows down with age, as all sensitivities decrease, but desire is something present throughout life. Yet, seniors are rarely questioned about their sexual health by the media.
Note that older people in institutions face an additional obstacle: lack of privacy. Is this normal? Sexuality releases endorphins, oxytocin, it is well-being that costs nothing. It is something that should be prescribed!
Question: Chronic diseases, disabilities with incidence increases with age — are they not inevitable obstacles to a fulfilling sexuality?
Dr. Burté: It is possible to have a sexual life regardless of the disease one has, cancer, diabetes, rheumatic disease — regardless of the disability.
A collaboration with the National Cancer Institute on the preservation of sexual health after cancer in which I participated shows that people are extremely demanding of care and that this care is still very insufficient, unfortunately, even in the case of prostate cancer, for example, when it should be obvious.
Question: But aging itself brings challenges in terms of sexuality.
Dr. Burté: Yes, in men, the consequences of low testosterone levels are well known. Therefore, we must stop thinking that men do not have their “menopause.” Men often have a testosterone deficiency after a certain age. This is very annoying because they have many symptoms that are truly unpleasant and yet can be corrected by completely reliable treatments.
Men are very misinformed on this subject. We talk about gender inequality, but in this area, a young woman who has her first period knows very well that one day she will go through menopause, but a boy has no idea that one day he will have hormone problems.
Question: Therefore, is it important to question men past the age of 50 years?
Dr. Burté: Yes. Faced with sexual symptoms or simply fatigue, or among those who are a bit depressed, investigating a testosterone deficiency should be part of the reflexes.
Also, if you ask a man in general, “How is it going from a sexual point of view,” and he answers that everything is going well, this means he has good arteries, good veins, a good nervous system, sufficient hormones, and psychologically, everything is going rather well. Conversely, erectile dysfunction can be one of the first symptoms of cardiovascular pathologies.
After a certain age, there is no test that provides as much information about people’s health as this question about sexual health.
Question: On their side, are women better cared for at menopause?
Dr. Burté: Yes, but women still lack explanations. I work in sexual medicine, and in my consultation, I see women who come simply to get information about menopause.
Women must know that menopause is a turning point in life because they will spend 30%-40% of their lives without hormones.
It is important to explain that indeed, after menopause, without treatment, it is not the same. There are genital and urinary, psychological, sexual, and skin consequences. It is important to provide true data on the influence of hormonal treatments. Today, hormone fear is not over. I think we need to rehabilitate treatments, care for women.
Question: So we must not forget men or women.
Dr. Burté: Yes. It is also very important to adopt a perspective not only for the individual but also for the couple. If you treat a man with testosterone, after 3 months, he will be in great shape. However, if the couple has long been accustomed to having a limited sexual life, if the woman is not supported on her side, the couple will be unbalanced. The couple is concerned with managing the hormonal changes of both.
Question: Sexual medicine is essential, yet it seems inaccessible.
Dr. Burté: There are very few specialists in sexual medicine because there is no legal provision for it. These consultations are lengthy but not valued. Who wants to work for that?
If there was reimbursement for sexual medicine consultations at age 15 years, at menopause, and for men around the age of 50 years, it would change mentalities. Sexual medicine must be integrated into medicine. It should also be noted that not all sexologists are physicians.
Some people are very well trained through universities, and others are not. Ideally, someone with a sexual disorder should first have a sexual medicine consultation to understand the situation. Then, the physician can refer the patient to a competent sexologist because we work in a network.
Dr. Burté has no conflicts of interest related to the subject.
This story was translated from the Medscape French edition using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.
From adolescence onward, the need for sexual health is particularly important. Yet, information and healthcare services are limited, which often leaves patients in distress and subject to misconceptions. What are the specific issues related to sexuality in adolescence, middle age, and beyond? This news organization interviewed Carol Burté, MD, a specialist in sexual medicine from Monaco.
Question: Regarding young individuals, what about sex education in schools?
Dr. Burté: The French law of 2018 specifies that at least three annual sessions must be devoted to sex education in elementary school, middle school, and high school.
In practice, this is not always the case, and interventions are very focused on prevention and rules. Sexuality is almost always absent from the program. Sexuality means: What does it mean to have desire? How does pleasure work? At what age do we have sex? etc. Young people receive prevention advice, but the link with sexuality is not made.
Sexuality remains taboo. You know, like in books: “They got married and had many children ...” End of the story, we don’t know more [laughs].
Question: And outside the school setting, do doctors sufficiently address sexual health issues with adolescents?
Dr. Burté: Rarely. I understand that a general practitioner has little time, but they can still ask the young person if they have any questions. They can refer them to someone or provide reading recommendations. Regarding sex education on the Internet, there are many well-made websites, such as the one by the national education system.
Also, it is important to give young people lifestyle advice to combat overweight, sedentary behavior, etc., by explaining to them that these factors can lead to sexual disorders later as well as infertility.
Another very important point: There is an inequality between boys and girls, but this time, to the disadvantage of boys. We have a sexual health consultation dedicated to young girls for the pill, but no one examines the boys. However, testicular cancer or undescended testicles can occur. I think we really need to change things and establish a clinical examination for boys in adolescence.
Question: More and more young people identify as asexual. What do you think of this?
Dr. Burté: People who identify as asexual represent about 1% of the population. These are individuals who are not attracted to having sexual relationships with someone. This does not prevent them from having a boyfriend, a girlfriend, masturbating, etc. It is sexual intercourse that does not interest them. These young people often say they have done it all. They have seen a lot of images, viewed sexuality as gymnastics with all the positions, tricks. They are jaded. Also, when you are faced with an image that provides a very strong and rapid stimulation, human relationships seem much more difficult because, obviously, you will never reproduce that sensation when you are with your partner with whom you must connect. The relationship is no longer emotional and shared. Yet, sexuality is emotional, relational, intellectual.
I think people go through phases. At a certain point, they feel asexual, but they can change their minds and think differently if they have real encounters, encounters that are increasingly difficult. Today, we are witnessing a loss of confidence. Young people, but also others, want to protect themselves from everything, especially from falling in love, not get back into a relationship because it is constraining.
Question: Data show that young people are exposed to pornography at an increasingly early age. Is this a problem for their future sexuality?
Dr. Burté: The exposure to pornography at an early age, around 11 years old, has only been a reality for the past decade. It is too early to say how it will impact their sexuality. When examining the literature on this subject, some publications indicate that the consequences can be dramatic for children. Others show that children can distinguish between reality and fantasy.
Whenever I see young people in consultation, I ask them whether they feel pornography has helped or hindered them, whether it is the cause of the issue they are facing. I would say that, other than those who have viewed pornography under duress, which is of the order of violence, pornography does not seem to pose a problem. It can even provide certain knowledge.
Question: What about sexual violence in children? What are the consequences?
Dr. Burté: In sexual medicine, this is one of the questions we ask systematically because it is very common. It is important to keep in mind that this not only affects girls; boys are also sexually abused. The consequences are dramatic in terms of psychosexual development. Each case is different.
Question: At the other end of life, is it “normal” to have sexual disorders at a certain age? Should we resign ourselves?
Dr. Burté: When it comes to sexuality, people have many misconceptions and beliefs that are conveyed through media and the Internet. One of them is to believe that because we are aging, we cannot have a proper sexuality. Sexuality slows down with age, as all sensitivities decrease, but desire is something present throughout life. Yet, seniors are rarely questioned about their sexual health by the media.
Note that older people in institutions face an additional obstacle: lack of privacy. Is this normal? Sexuality releases endorphins, oxytocin, it is well-being that costs nothing. It is something that should be prescribed!
Question: Chronic diseases, disabilities with incidence increases with age — are they not inevitable obstacles to a fulfilling sexuality?
Dr. Burté: It is possible to have a sexual life regardless of the disease one has, cancer, diabetes, rheumatic disease — regardless of the disability.
A collaboration with the National Cancer Institute on the preservation of sexual health after cancer in which I participated shows that people are extremely demanding of care and that this care is still very insufficient, unfortunately, even in the case of prostate cancer, for example, when it should be obvious.
Question: But aging itself brings challenges in terms of sexuality.
Dr. Burté: Yes, in men, the consequences of low testosterone levels are well known. Therefore, we must stop thinking that men do not have their “menopause.” Men often have a testosterone deficiency after a certain age. This is very annoying because they have many symptoms that are truly unpleasant and yet can be corrected by completely reliable treatments.
Men are very misinformed on this subject. We talk about gender inequality, but in this area, a young woman who has her first period knows very well that one day she will go through menopause, but a boy has no idea that one day he will have hormone problems.
Question: Therefore, is it important to question men past the age of 50 years?
Dr. Burté: Yes. Faced with sexual symptoms or simply fatigue, or among those who are a bit depressed, investigating a testosterone deficiency should be part of the reflexes.
Also, if you ask a man in general, “How is it going from a sexual point of view,” and he answers that everything is going well, this means he has good arteries, good veins, a good nervous system, sufficient hormones, and psychologically, everything is going rather well. Conversely, erectile dysfunction can be one of the first symptoms of cardiovascular pathologies.
After a certain age, there is no test that provides as much information about people’s health as this question about sexual health.
Question: On their side, are women better cared for at menopause?
Dr. Burté: Yes, but women still lack explanations. I work in sexual medicine, and in my consultation, I see women who come simply to get information about menopause.
Women must know that menopause is a turning point in life because they will spend 30%-40% of their lives without hormones.
It is important to explain that indeed, after menopause, without treatment, it is not the same. There are genital and urinary, psychological, sexual, and skin consequences. It is important to provide true data on the influence of hormonal treatments. Today, hormone fear is not over. I think we need to rehabilitate treatments, care for women.
Question: So we must not forget men or women.
Dr. Burté: Yes. It is also very important to adopt a perspective not only for the individual but also for the couple. If you treat a man with testosterone, after 3 months, he will be in great shape. However, if the couple has long been accustomed to having a limited sexual life, if the woman is not supported on her side, the couple will be unbalanced. The couple is concerned with managing the hormonal changes of both.
Question: Sexual medicine is essential, yet it seems inaccessible.
Dr. Burté: There are very few specialists in sexual medicine because there is no legal provision for it. These consultations are lengthy but not valued. Who wants to work for that?
If there was reimbursement for sexual medicine consultations at age 15 years, at menopause, and for men around the age of 50 years, it would change mentalities. Sexual medicine must be integrated into medicine. It should also be noted that not all sexologists are physicians.
Some people are very well trained through universities, and others are not. Ideally, someone with a sexual disorder should first have a sexual medicine consultation to understand the situation. Then, the physician can refer the patient to a competent sexologist because we work in a network.
Dr. Burté has no conflicts of interest related to the subject.
This story was translated from the Medscape French edition using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.
From adolescence onward, the need for sexual health is particularly important. Yet, information and healthcare services are limited, which often leaves patients in distress and subject to misconceptions. What are the specific issues related to sexuality in adolescence, middle age, and beyond? This news organization interviewed Carol Burté, MD, a specialist in sexual medicine from Monaco.
Question: Regarding young individuals, what about sex education in schools?
Dr. Burté: The French law of 2018 specifies that at least three annual sessions must be devoted to sex education in elementary school, middle school, and high school.
In practice, this is not always the case, and interventions are very focused on prevention and rules. Sexuality is almost always absent from the program. Sexuality means: What does it mean to have desire? How does pleasure work? At what age do we have sex? etc. Young people receive prevention advice, but the link with sexuality is not made.
Sexuality remains taboo. You know, like in books: “They got married and had many children ...” End of the story, we don’t know more [laughs].
Question: And outside the school setting, do doctors sufficiently address sexual health issues with adolescents?
Dr. Burté: Rarely. I understand that a general practitioner has little time, but they can still ask the young person if they have any questions. They can refer them to someone or provide reading recommendations. Regarding sex education on the Internet, there are many well-made websites, such as the one by the national education system.
Also, it is important to give young people lifestyle advice to combat overweight, sedentary behavior, etc., by explaining to them that these factors can lead to sexual disorders later as well as infertility.
Another very important point: There is an inequality between boys and girls, but this time, to the disadvantage of boys. We have a sexual health consultation dedicated to young girls for the pill, but no one examines the boys. However, testicular cancer or undescended testicles can occur. I think we really need to change things and establish a clinical examination for boys in adolescence.
Question: More and more young people identify as asexual. What do you think of this?
Dr. Burté: People who identify as asexual represent about 1% of the population. These are individuals who are not attracted to having sexual relationships with someone. This does not prevent them from having a boyfriend, a girlfriend, masturbating, etc. It is sexual intercourse that does not interest them. These young people often say they have done it all. They have seen a lot of images, viewed sexuality as gymnastics with all the positions, tricks. They are jaded. Also, when you are faced with an image that provides a very strong and rapid stimulation, human relationships seem much more difficult because, obviously, you will never reproduce that sensation when you are with your partner with whom you must connect. The relationship is no longer emotional and shared. Yet, sexuality is emotional, relational, intellectual.
I think people go through phases. At a certain point, they feel asexual, but they can change their minds and think differently if they have real encounters, encounters that are increasingly difficult. Today, we are witnessing a loss of confidence. Young people, but also others, want to protect themselves from everything, especially from falling in love, not get back into a relationship because it is constraining.
Question: Data show that young people are exposed to pornography at an increasingly early age. Is this a problem for their future sexuality?
Dr. Burté: The exposure to pornography at an early age, around 11 years old, has only been a reality for the past decade. It is too early to say how it will impact their sexuality. When examining the literature on this subject, some publications indicate that the consequences can be dramatic for children. Others show that children can distinguish between reality and fantasy.
Whenever I see young people in consultation, I ask them whether they feel pornography has helped or hindered them, whether it is the cause of the issue they are facing. I would say that, other than those who have viewed pornography under duress, which is of the order of violence, pornography does not seem to pose a problem. It can even provide certain knowledge.
Question: What about sexual violence in children? What are the consequences?
Dr. Burté: In sexual medicine, this is one of the questions we ask systematically because it is very common. It is important to keep in mind that this not only affects girls; boys are also sexually abused. The consequences are dramatic in terms of psychosexual development. Each case is different.
Question: At the other end of life, is it “normal” to have sexual disorders at a certain age? Should we resign ourselves?
Dr. Burté: When it comes to sexuality, people have many misconceptions and beliefs that are conveyed through media and the Internet. One of them is to believe that because we are aging, we cannot have a proper sexuality. Sexuality slows down with age, as all sensitivities decrease, but desire is something present throughout life. Yet, seniors are rarely questioned about their sexual health by the media.
Note that older people in institutions face an additional obstacle: lack of privacy. Is this normal? Sexuality releases endorphins, oxytocin, it is well-being that costs nothing. It is something that should be prescribed!
Question: Chronic diseases, disabilities with incidence increases with age — are they not inevitable obstacles to a fulfilling sexuality?
Dr. Burté: It is possible to have a sexual life regardless of the disease one has, cancer, diabetes, rheumatic disease — regardless of the disability.
A collaboration with the National Cancer Institute on the preservation of sexual health after cancer in which I participated shows that people are extremely demanding of care and that this care is still very insufficient, unfortunately, even in the case of prostate cancer, for example, when it should be obvious.
Question: But aging itself brings challenges in terms of sexuality.
Dr. Burté: Yes, in men, the consequences of low testosterone levels are well known. Therefore, we must stop thinking that men do not have their “menopause.” Men often have a testosterone deficiency after a certain age. This is very annoying because they have many symptoms that are truly unpleasant and yet can be corrected by completely reliable treatments.
Men are very misinformed on this subject. We talk about gender inequality, but in this area, a young woman who has her first period knows very well that one day she will go through menopause, but a boy has no idea that one day he will have hormone problems.
Question: Therefore, is it important to question men past the age of 50 years?
Dr. Burté: Yes. Faced with sexual symptoms or simply fatigue, or among those who are a bit depressed, investigating a testosterone deficiency should be part of the reflexes.
Also, if you ask a man in general, “How is it going from a sexual point of view,” and he answers that everything is going well, this means he has good arteries, good veins, a good nervous system, sufficient hormones, and psychologically, everything is going rather well. Conversely, erectile dysfunction can be one of the first symptoms of cardiovascular pathologies.
After a certain age, there is no test that provides as much information about people’s health as this question about sexual health.
Question: On their side, are women better cared for at menopause?
Dr. Burté: Yes, but women still lack explanations. I work in sexual medicine, and in my consultation, I see women who come simply to get information about menopause.
Women must know that menopause is a turning point in life because they will spend 30%-40% of their lives without hormones.
It is important to explain that indeed, after menopause, without treatment, it is not the same. There are genital and urinary, psychological, sexual, and skin consequences. It is important to provide true data on the influence of hormonal treatments. Today, hormone fear is not over. I think we need to rehabilitate treatments, care for women.
Question: So we must not forget men or women.
Dr. Burté: Yes. It is also very important to adopt a perspective not only for the individual but also for the couple. If you treat a man with testosterone, after 3 months, he will be in great shape. However, if the couple has long been accustomed to having a limited sexual life, if the woman is not supported on her side, the couple will be unbalanced. The couple is concerned with managing the hormonal changes of both.
Question: Sexual medicine is essential, yet it seems inaccessible.
Dr. Burté: There are very few specialists in sexual medicine because there is no legal provision for it. These consultations are lengthy but not valued. Who wants to work for that?
If there was reimbursement for sexual medicine consultations at age 15 years, at menopause, and for men around the age of 50 years, it would change mentalities. Sexual medicine must be integrated into medicine. It should also be noted that not all sexologists are physicians.
Some people are very well trained through universities, and others are not. Ideally, someone with a sexual disorder should first have a sexual medicine consultation to understand the situation. Then, the physician can refer the patient to a competent sexologist because we work in a network.
Dr. Burté has no conflicts of interest related to the subject.
This story was translated from the Medscape French edition using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.
PPEs — Haystacks and Needles
A story in a recent edition of this newspaper reported on a disturbing, but not surprising, study by a third-year pediatric resident at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine. Looking at just the Preparticipaton Physical Evaluations (PPEs) she could find at her institution, Tammy Ng, MD, found that only slightly more than a quarter “addressed all the criteria” on the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) standardized form. Although more than half included inquiries about respiratory symptoms, less than half contained questions about a cardiovascular history. The lack of consistency across all the forms reviewed was the most dramatic finding.
Having participated in more than my share of PPEs as a school physician, a primary care pediatrician, and a multi-sport high school and college athlete, I was not surprised by Dr. Ng’s findings. In high school my teammates and I considered our trip to see Old Doctor Hinds (not his real name) in the second week of August “a joke.” A few of us with “white coat” hypertension, like myself, had to be settled down and have our blood pressure retaken. But other than that wrinkle, we all passed. The football coach had his own eyeball screening tool and wouldn’t allow kids he thought were too small to play football.
Reading this study rekindled a question that surfaced every sports season as I faced days of looking at forms, many of them fished out of backpacks in a crumbled mass. I squeezed in new patients or old patients who were out of date on their physicals, not wanting any youngster to miss out on the politically important first practice of the pre-season. Why was I doing it? What was my goal? In more than four hundred thousand office visit encounters, I had never knowingly missed a case that resulted in a sudden sports-related death. Where was the evidence that PPEs had any protective value? Now a third-year pediatric resident is bold enough to tell us that we have done such a sloppy job of collecting data that we aren’t anywhere close to having the raw material with which to answer my decades-old questions and concerns.
Has our needles-in-the-haystack strategy saved any lives? I suspect a few of you can describe scenarios in which asking the right question of the right person at the right time prevented a sports-related sudden death. But, looking at bigger picture, what were the downsides for the entire population with a system in which those questions weren’t asked?
How many young people didn’t play a sport because their parents couldn’t afford the doctor visit or maintain a family structure that would allow them to find the lost form and drive it to the doctor’s office on Friday afternoon. Not every athletic director or physician’s staff is flexible or sympathetic enough to deal with that level of family dysfunction.
The AAP has recently focused its attention on the problems associated with overspecialization and overtraining in an attempt to make youth sports more safe. But, in reality that target audience is a small, elite, highly motivated group. The bigger problem is the rest of the population, in which too few children are physically active and participation in organized youth sports is decreasing. There are many reasons for that trajectory, but shouldn’t we be doing everything we can to reduce the barriers preventing young people from being more active? One of those barriers is a PPE system that is so riddled with inconsistencies that we have no idea as to its utility.
Certainly, bigger and more robust studies can be done, but there will be a long lead time to determine if a better PPE system might be effective. But there is a different approach. Instead of looking for needles with retrospective questions relying on patients’ and parents’ memories, why not use AI to mine patients’ old records for any language that may be buried in the history that could raise a yellow flag. Of course not every significant episode of syncope results in a chart entry. But, if we can make EMRs do our bidding instead being a thorn in our sides, records from long-forgotten episodes at an urgent care center while on vacation should merge with patients global record and light up when AI goes hunting.
If we can get our act together, the process that my teenage buddies and I considered a joke could become an efficient and possibly life-saving exercise.
Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “How to Say No to Your Toddler.” Other than a Littman stethoscope he accepted as a first-year medical student in 1966, Dr. Wilkoff reports having nothing to disclose. Email him at pdnews@mdedge.com.
A story in a recent edition of this newspaper reported on a disturbing, but not surprising, study by a third-year pediatric resident at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine. Looking at just the Preparticipaton Physical Evaluations (PPEs) she could find at her institution, Tammy Ng, MD, found that only slightly more than a quarter “addressed all the criteria” on the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) standardized form. Although more than half included inquiries about respiratory symptoms, less than half contained questions about a cardiovascular history. The lack of consistency across all the forms reviewed was the most dramatic finding.
Having participated in more than my share of PPEs as a school physician, a primary care pediatrician, and a multi-sport high school and college athlete, I was not surprised by Dr. Ng’s findings. In high school my teammates and I considered our trip to see Old Doctor Hinds (not his real name) in the second week of August “a joke.” A few of us with “white coat” hypertension, like myself, had to be settled down and have our blood pressure retaken. But other than that wrinkle, we all passed. The football coach had his own eyeball screening tool and wouldn’t allow kids he thought were too small to play football.
Reading this study rekindled a question that surfaced every sports season as I faced days of looking at forms, many of them fished out of backpacks in a crumbled mass. I squeezed in new patients or old patients who were out of date on their physicals, not wanting any youngster to miss out on the politically important first practice of the pre-season. Why was I doing it? What was my goal? In more than four hundred thousand office visit encounters, I had never knowingly missed a case that resulted in a sudden sports-related death. Where was the evidence that PPEs had any protective value? Now a third-year pediatric resident is bold enough to tell us that we have done such a sloppy job of collecting data that we aren’t anywhere close to having the raw material with which to answer my decades-old questions and concerns.
Has our needles-in-the-haystack strategy saved any lives? I suspect a few of you can describe scenarios in which asking the right question of the right person at the right time prevented a sports-related sudden death. But, looking at bigger picture, what were the downsides for the entire population with a system in which those questions weren’t asked?
How many young people didn’t play a sport because their parents couldn’t afford the doctor visit or maintain a family structure that would allow them to find the lost form and drive it to the doctor’s office on Friday afternoon. Not every athletic director or physician’s staff is flexible or sympathetic enough to deal with that level of family dysfunction.
The AAP has recently focused its attention on the problems associated with overspecialization and overtraining in an attempt to make youth sports more safe. But, in reality that target audience is a small, elite, highly motivated group. The bigger problem is the rest of the population, in which too few children are physically active and participation in organized youth sports is decreasing. There are many reasons for that trajectory, but shouldn’t we be doing everything we can to reduce the barriers preventing young people from being more active? One of those barriers is a PPE system that is so riddled with inconsistencies that we have no idea as to its utility.
Certainly, bigger and more robust studies can be done, but there will be a long lead time to determine if a better PPE system might be effective. But there is a different approach. Instead of looking for needles with retrospective questions relying on patients’ and parents’ memories, why not use AI to mine patients’ old records for any language that may be buried in the history that could raise a yellow flag. Of course not every significant episode of syncope results in a chart entry. But, if we can make EMRs do our bidding instead being a thorn in our sides, records from long-forgotten episodes at an urgent care center while on vacation should merge with patients global record and light up when AI goes hunting.
If we can get our act together, the process that my teenage buddies and I considered a joke could become an efficient and possibly life-saving exercise.
Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “How to Say No to Your Toddler.” Other than a Littman stethoscope he accepted as a first-year medical student in 1966, Dr. Wilkoff reports having nothing to disclose. Email him at pdnews@mdedge.com.
A story in a recent edition of this newspaper reported on a disturbing, but not surprising, study by a third-year pediatric resident at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine. Looking at just the Preparticipaton Physical Evaluations (PPEs) she could find at her institution, Tammy Ng, MD, found that only slightly more than a quarter “addressed all the criteria” on the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) standardized form. Although more than half included inquiries about respiratory symptoms, less than half contained questions about a cardiovascular history. The lack of consistency across all the forms reviewed was the most dramatic finding.
Having participated in more than my share of PPEs as a school physician, a primary care pediatrician, and a multi-sport high school and college athlete, I was not surprised by Dr. Ng’s findings. In high school my teammates and I considered our trip to see Old Doctor Hinds (not his real name) in the second week of August “a joke.” A few of us with “white coat” hypertension, like myself, had to be settled down and have our blood pressure retaken. But other than that wrinkle, we all passed. The football coach had his own eyeball screening tool and wouldn’t allow kids he thought were too small to play football.
Reading this study rekindled a question that surfaced every sports season as I faced days of looking at forms, many of them fished out of backpacks in a crumbled mass. I squeezed in new patients or old patients who were out of date on their physicals, not wanting any youngster to miss out on the politically important first practice of the pre-season. Why was I doing it? What was my goal? In more than four hundred thousand office visit encounters, I had never knowingly missed a case that resulted in a sudden sports-related death. Where was the evidence that PPEs had any protective value? Now a third-year pediatric resident is bold enough to tell us that we have done such a sloppy job of collecting data that we aren’t anywhere close to having the raw material with which to answer my decades-old questions and concerns.
Has our needles-in-the-haystack strategy saved any lives? I suspect a few of you can describe scenarios in which asking the right question of the right person at the right time prevented a sports-related sudden death. But, looking at bigger picture, what were the downsides for the entire population with a system in which those questions weren’t asked?
How many young people didn’t play a sport because their parents couldn’t afford the doctor visit or maintain a family structure that would allow them to find the lost form and drive it to the doctor’s office on Friday afternoon. Not every athletic director or physician’s staff is flexible or sympathetic enough to deal with that level of family dysfunction.
The AAP has recently focused its attention on the problems associated with overspecialization and overtraining in an attempt to make youth sports more safe. But, in reality that target audience is a small, elite, highly motivated group. The bigger problem is the rest of the population, in which too few children are physically active and participation in organized youth sports is decreasing. There are many reasons for that trajectory, but shouldn’t we be doing everything we can to reduce the barriers preventing young people from being more active? One of those barriers is a PPE system that is so riddled with inconsistencies that we have no idea as to its utility.
Certainly, bigger and more robust studies can be done, but there will be a long lead time to determine if a better PPE system might be effective. But there is a different approach. Instead of looking for needles with retrospective questions relying on patients’ and parents’ memories, why not use AI to mine patients’ old records for any language that may be buried in the history that could raise a yellow flag. Of course not every significant episode of syncope results in a chart entry. But, if we can make EMRs do our bidding instead being a thorn in our sides, records from long-forgotten episodes at an urgent care center while on vacation should merge with patients global record and light up when AI goes hunting.
If we can get our act together, the process that my teenage buddies and I considered a joke could become an efficient and possibly life-saving exercise.
Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “How to Say No to Your Toddler.” Other than a Littman stethoscope he accepted as a first-year medical student in 1966, Dr. Wilkoff reports having nothing to disclose. Email him at pdnews@mdedge.com.
Chronic Absenteeism
Among the more unheralded examples of collateral damage of the COVID epidemic is chronic absenteeism. A recent NPR/Ipsos poll found that parents ranked chronic absenteeism last in a list of 12 school-related concerns. Only 5% listed it first.
This is surprising and concerning, given that In fact, in some states the chronic absenteeism rate is 40%. In 2020 8 million students were chronically absent. This number is now over 14 million. Chronic absenteeism is a metric defined as a student absent for 15 days or more, which comes out to around 10% of the school year. Chronic absenteeism has been used as a predictor of the student dropout rate.
The initial contribution of the pandemic is easily explained, as parents were understandably concerned about sending their children into an environment that might cause disease, or at least bring the disease home to a more vulnerable family member. The reasons behind the trend’s persistence are a bit more complicated.
Family schedules initially disrupted by the pandemic have settled back into a pattern that may make it more difficult for a child to get to school. Day care and work schedules may have changed, but not yet readjusted to sync with the school schedule.
In the simplest terms, children and their families may have simply fallen out of the habit of going to school. For children (and maybe their parents) who had always struggled with an unresolved separation anxiety, the time at home — or at least not in school — came as a relief. Which, in turn, meant that any gains in dealing with the anxiety have been undone. The child who was already struggling academically or socially found being at home much less challenging. It’s not surprising that he/she might resist climbing back in the academic saddle.
It is very likely that a significant contributor to the persistent trend in chronic absenteeism is what social scientists call “norm erosion.” Not just children, but families may have developed an attitude that time spent in school just isn’t as valuable as they once believed, or were at least told that it was. There seems to be more parents questioning what their children are being taught in school. The home schooling movement existed before the pandemic. Its roots may be growing under the surface in the form of general skepticism about the importance of school in the bigger scheme of things. The home schooling movement was ready to blossom when the COVID pandemic triggered school closures. We hoped and dreamed that remote learning would be just as good as in-person school. We now realize that, in most cases, that was wishful thinking.
It feels as though a “Perfect Attendance Record” may have lost the cachet it once had. During the pandemic anyone claiming to have never missed a day at school lost that gold star. Did opening your computer every day to watch a remote learning session count for anything?
The threshold for allowing a child to stay home from school may be reaching a historic low. Families seem to regard the school schedule as a guideline that can easily be ignored when planning a vacation. Take little brother out of school to attend big brother’s lacrosse playoff game, not to worry if the youngster misses school days for a trip.
Who is responsible for reversing the trend? Teachers already know it is a serious problem. They view attendance as important. Maybe educators could make school more appealing. But to whom? Sounds like this message should be targeted at the parents. Would stiff penalties for parents whose children are chronically absent help? Would demanding a note from a physician after a certain number of absences help? It might. But, are pediatricians and educators ready to take on one more task in which parents have dropped the ball?
An unknown percentage of chronically absent children are missing school because of a previously unrecognized or inadequately treated mental health condition or learning disability. Involving physicians in a community’s response to chronic absenteeism may be the first step in getting a child back on track. If socioeconomic factors are contributing to a child’s truancy, the involvement of social service agencies may be the answer.
I have a friend who is often asked to address graduating classes at both the high school and college level. One of his standard pieces of advice, whether it be about school or a workplace you may not be in love with, is to at least “show up.” The family that treats school attendance as optional is likely to produce adults who take a similarly nonchalant attitude toward their employment opportunities — with unfortunate results.
Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “How to Say No to Your Toddler.” Other than a Littman stethoscope he accepted as a first-year medical student in 1966, Dr. Wilkoff reports having nothing to disclose. Email him at pdnews@mdedge.com.
Among the more unheralded examples of collateral damage of the COVID epidemic is chronic absenteeism. A recent NPR/Ipsos poll found that parents ranked chronic absenteeism last in a list of 12 school-related concerns. Only 5% listed it first.
This is surprising and concerning, given that In fact, in some states the chronic absenteeism rate is 40%. In 2020 8 million students were chronically absent. This number is now over 14 million. Chronic absenteeism is a metric defined as a student absent for 15 days or more, which comes out to around 10% of the school year. Chronic absenteeism has been used as a predictor of the student dropout rate.
The initial contribution of the pandemic is easily explained, as parents were understandably concerned about sending their children into an environment that might cause disease, or at least bring the disease home to a more vulnerable family member. The reasons behind the trend’s persistence are a bit more complicated.
Family schedules initially disrupted by the pandemic have settled back into a pattern that may make it more difficult for a child to get to school. Day care and work schedules may have changed, but not yet readjusted to sync with the school schedule.
In the simplest terms, children and their families may have simply fallen out of the habit of going to school. For children (and maybe their parents) who had always struggled with an unresolved separation anxiety, the time at home — or at least not in school — came as a relief. Which, in turn, meant that any gains in dealing with the anxiety have been undone. The child who was already struggling academically or socially found being at home much less challenging. It’s not surprising that he/she might resist climbing back in the academic saddle.
It is very likely that a significant contributor to the persistent trend in chronic absenteeism is what social scientists call “norm erosion.” Not just children, but families may have developed an attitude that time spent in school just isn’t as valuable as they once believed, or were at least told that it was. There seems to be more parents questioning what their children are being taught in school. The home schooling movement existed before the pandemic. Its roots may be growing under the surface in the form of general skepticism about the importance of school in the bigger scheme of things. The home schooling movement was ready to blossom when the COVID pandemic triggered school closures. We hoped and dreamed that remote learning would be just as good as in-person school. We now realize that, in most cases, that was wishful thinking.
It feels as though a “Perfect Attendance Record” may have lost the cachet it once had. During the pandemic anyone claiming to have never missed a day at school lost that gold star. Did opening your computer every day to watch a remote learning session count for anything?
The threshold for allowing a child to stay home from school may be reaching a historic low. Families seem to regard the school schedule as a guideline that can easily be ignored when planning a vacation. Take little brother out of school to attend big brother’s lacrosse playoff game, not to worry if the youngster misses school days for a trip.
Who is responsible for reversing the trend? Teachers already know it is a serious problem. They view attendance as important. Maybe educators could make school more appealing. But to whom? Sounds like this message should be targeted at the parents. Would stiff penalties for parents whose children are chronically absent help? Would demanding a note from a physician after a certain number of absences help? It might. But, are pediatricians and educators ready to take on one more task in which parents have dropped the ball?
An unknown percentage of chronically absent children are missing school because of a previously unrecognized or inadequately treated mental health condition or learning disability. Involving physicians in a community’s response to chronic absenteeism may be the first step in getting a child back on track. If socioeconomic factors are contributing to a child’s truancy, the involvement of social service agencies may be the answer.
I have a friend who is often asked to address graduating classes at both the high school and college level. One of his standard pieces of advice, whether it be about school or a workplace you may not be in love with, is to at least “show up.” The family that treats school attendance as optional is likely to produce adults who take a similarly nonchalant attitude toward their employment opportunities — with unfortunate results.
Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “How to Say No to Your Toddler.” Other than a Littman stethoscope he accepted as a first-year medical student in 1966, Dr. Wilkoff reports having nothing to disclose. Email him at pdnews@mdedge.com.
Among the more unheralded examples of collateral damage of the COVID epidemic is chronic absenteeism. A recent NPR/Ipsos poll found that parents ranked chronic absenteeism last in a list of 12 school-related concerns. Only 5% listed it first.
This is surprising and concerning, given that In fact, in some states the chronic absenteeism rate is 40%. In 2020 8 million students were chronically absent. This number is now over 14 million. Chronic absenteeism is a metric defined as a student absent for 15 days or more, which comes out to around 10% of the school year. Chronic absenteeism has been used as a predictor of the student dropout rate.
The initial contribution of the pandemic is easily explained, as parents were understandably concerned about sending their children into an environment that might cause disease, or at least bring the disease home to a more vulnerable family member. The reasons behind the trend’s persistence are a bit more complicated.
Family schedules initially disrupted by the pandemic have settled back into a pattern that may make it more difficult for a child to get to school. Day care and work schedules may have changed, but not yet readjusted to sync with the school schedule.
In the simplest terms, children and their families may have simply fallen out of the habit of going to school. For children (and maybe their parents) who had always struggled with an unresolved separation anxiety, the time at home — or at least not in school — came as a relief. Which, in turn, meant that any gains in dealing with the anxiety have been undone. The child who was already struggling academically or socially found being at home much less challenging. It’s not surprising that he/she might resist climbing back in the academic saddle.
It is very likely that a significant contributor to the persistent trend in chronic absenteeism is what social scientists call “norm erosion.” Not just children, but families may have developed an attitude that time spent in school just isn’t as valuable as they once believed, or were at least told that it was. There seems to be more parents questioning what their children are being taught in school. The home schooling movement existed before the pandemic. Its roots may be growing under the surface in the form of general skepticism about the importance of school in the bigger scheme of things. The home schooling movement was ready to blossom when the COVID pandemic triggered school closures. We hoped and dreamed that remote learning would be just as good as in-person school. We now realize that, in most cases, that was wishful thinking.
It feels as though a “Perfect Attendance Record” may have lost the cachet it once had. During the pandemic anyone claiming to have never missed a day at school lost that gold star. Did opening your computer every day to watch a remote learning session count for anything?
The threshold for allowing a child to stay home from school may be reaching a historic low. Families seem to regard the school schedule as a guideline that can easily be ignored when planning a vacation. Take little brother out of school to attend big brother’s lacrosse playoff game, not to worry if the youngster misses school days for a trip.
Who is responsible for reversing the trend? Teachers already know it is a serious problem. They view attendance as important. Maybe educators could make school more appealing. But to whom? Sounds like this message should be targeted at the parents. Would stiff penalties for parents whose children are chronically absent help? Would demanding a note from a physician after a certain number of absences help? It might. But, are pediatricians and educators ready to take on one more task in which parents have dropped the ball?
An unknown percentage of chronically absent children are missing school because of a previously unrecognized or inadequately treated mental health condition or learning disability. Involving physicians in a community’s response to chronic absenteeism may be the first step in getting a child back on track. If socioeconomic factors are contributing to a child’s truancy, the involvement of social service agencies may be the answer.
I have a friend who is often asked to address graduating classes at both the high school and college level. One of his standard pieces of advice, whether it be about school or a workplace you may not be in love with, is to at least “show up.” The family that treats school attendance as optional is likely to produce adults who take a similarly nonchalant attitude toward their employment opportunities — with unfortunate results.
Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “How to Say No to Your Toddler.” Other than a Littman stethoscope he accepted as a first-year medical student in 1966, Dr. Wilkoff reports having nothing to disclose. Email him at pdnews@mdedge.com.
Selective Attention
After 26 years in practice, there are still things about the brain that amaze me, often that I first notice on myself.
Filtering (I guess “selective attention” sounds better) is one of them. We don’t notice it, but it’s definitely there.
Working at a jigsaw puzzle, I find myself looking for a specific piece, say, a white tab with a dark background and yellow stripe in the center. There may be several hundred pieces spread around me at the table, but the brain quickly starts filtering them out. In a fraction of a second I only notice ones with a white tab, then mentally those are broken down by the other characteristics. If it looks promising, I’ll look back at the space I’m trying to fit it in, mentally rotate the piece (another tricky thing if you think about it) and, if that seems to match, will pick up the piece to try. If it doesn’t fit the process repeats.
It’s a remarkable ability to see a relationship between two separate objects that isn’t always apparent.
But it’s not just sight. Although I’ve always loved music, it wasn’t until my own kids were in a band that I found the ability to break it down, removing the other instruments. It brings a remarkable clarity to suddenly hearing my daughter on the marimba, or son on the flute. Even with 70 other instrument playing around them.
You can try it yourself, listening to Keith Moon’s amazing drums on The Who’s “5:15.” Or in Bob Seger’s “Fire Lake.” Take out Seger and the instruments and you suddenly realize it’s the Eagles doing the background singing.
In Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” a song you generally don’t attribute to the Rolling Stones, a little bit of focus will reveal Mick Jagger’s distinctive voice in the background chorus of “Don’t you, don’t you, don’t you?”
The ability isn’t something we created. It was there from our ancestors in the trees and caves. They used this ability to identify friend from foe, find the right path home, and pick out what was edible from what was poisonous. Like with so many other things, and without realizing it, our brains have retooled it for the world we now face, even if it’s just to find our car in the parking lot.
Sodium, calcium, potassium, and other ions flow in and out of nerve cells, an electrical impulse propagates though a network, matching incoming sounds and images to ones previously stored. That’s all it is, but the results are remarkable.
We take the everyday for granted, but should stop and think how amazing it really is.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Arizona.
After 26 years in practice, there are still things about the brain that amaze me, often that I first notice on myself.
Filtering (I guess “selective attention” sounds better) is one of them. We don’t notice it, but it’s definitely there.
Working at a jigsaw puzzle, I find myself looking for a specific piece, say, a white tab with a dark background and yellow stripe in the center. There may be several hundred pieces spread around me at the table, but the brain quickly starts filtering them out. In a fraction of a second I only notice ones with a white tab, then mentally those are broken down by the other characteristics. If it looks promising, I’ll look back at the space I’m trying to fit it in, mentally rotate the piece (another tricky thing if you think about it) and, if that seems to match, will pick up the piece to try. If it doesn’t fit the process repeats.
It’s a remarkable ability to see a relationship between two separate objects that isn’t always apparent.
But it’s not just sight. Although I’ve always loved music, it wasn’t until my own kids were in a band that I found the ability to break it down, removing the other instruments. It brings a remarkable clarity to suddenly hearing my daughter on the marimba, or son on the flute. Even with 70 other instrument playing around them.
You can try it yourself, listening to Keith Moon’s amazing drums on The Who’s “5:15.” Or in Bob Seger’s “Fire Lake.” Take out Seger and the instruments and you suddenly realize it’s the Eagles doing the background singing.
In Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” a song you generally don’t attribute to the Rolling Stones, a little bit of focus will reveal Mick Jagger’s distinctive voice in the background chorus of “Don’t you, don’t you, don’t you?”
The ability isn’t something we created. It was there from our ancestors in the trees and caves. They used this ability to identify friend from foe, find the right path home, and pick out what was edible from what was poisonous. Like with so many other things, and without realizing it, our brains have retooled it for the world we now face, even if it’s just to find our car in the parking lot.
Sodium, calcium, potassium, and other ions flow in and out of nerve cells, an electrical impulse propagates though a network, matching incoming sounds and images to ones previously stored. That’s all it is, but the results are remarkable.
We take the everyday for granted, but should stop and think how amazing it really is.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Arizona.
After 26 years in practice, there are still things about the brain that amaze me, often that I first notice on myself.
Filtering (I guess “selective attention” sounds better) is one of them. We don’t notice it, but it’s definitely there.
Working at a jigsaw puzzle, I find myself looking for a specific piece, say, a white tab with a dark background and yellow stripe in the center. There may be several hundred pieces spread around me at the table, but the brain quickly starts filtering them out. In a fraction of a second I only notice ones with a white tab, then mentally those are broken down by the other characteristics. If it looks promising, I’ll look back at the space I’m trying to fit it in, mentally rotate the piece (another tricky thing if you think about it) and, if that seems to match, will pick up the piece to try. If it doesn’t fit the process repeats.
It’s a remarkable ability to see a relationship between two separate objects that isn’t always apparent.
But it’s not just sight. Although I’ve always loved music, it wasn’t until my own kids were in a band that I found the ability to break it down, removing the other instruments. It brings a remarkable clarity to suddenly hearing my daughter on the marimba, or son on the flute. Even with 70 other instrument playing around them.
You can try it yourself, listening to Keith Moon’s amazing drums on The Who’s “5:15.” Or in Bob Seger’s “Fire Lake.” Take out Seger and the instruments and you suddenly realize it’s the Eagles doing the background singing.
In Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” a song you generally don’t attribute to the Rolling Stones, a little bit of focus will reveal Mick Jagger’s distinctive voice in the background chorus of “Don’t you, don’t you, don’t you?”
The ability isn’t something we created. It was there from our ancestors in the trees and caves. They used this ability to identify friend from foe, find the right path home, and pick out what was edible from what was poisonous. Like with so many other things, and without realizing it, our brains have retooled it for the world we now face, even if it’s just to find our car in the parking lot.
Sodium, calcium, potassium, and other ions flow in and out of nerve cells, an electrical impulse propagates though a network, matching incoming sounds and images to ones previously stored. That’s all it is, but the results are remarkable.
We take the everyday for granted, but should stop and think how amazing it really is.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Arizona.