A nurse has warned thousands of patients using the weight loss jab Mounjaro could be at risk of deadly organ failure, because GPs are failing to carry out a vital test.
Dubbed the ‘King Kong’ of weight loss injections, Mounjaro can now be prescribed by NHS GPs in a bid to tackle the ongoing obesity crisis.
But the injections often come with side effects ranging from severe dehydration, nausea and even life-threatening pancreatitis––which health professionals say could be avoided with a simple blood test.
Rachel Joy, nurse and chief clinical officer at SheMed, a private healthcare provider, said: ‘The safest way for people to use these jabs is through mandatory blood screening.’
She continued: ‘These blood tests help identify any underlying health issues that need to be managed before a patient starts the programme, or if the treatment is entirely unsuitable.’
Blood tests can test for liver function, thyroid problems, uncontrolled pre-diabetes and high levels of harmful fats called triglycerides in the blood.
These lipids come from foods, including butter, oil and other fats.
While a certain level of these fats is essential for good health, high levels can raise the risk of heart disease.
Ms Joy said that a simple at home blood test could revolutionise healthcare, enabling obese people to safely start taking weight loss jabs without knowing the risks
Ms Joy warned: ‘If someone has really high triglycerides, they may be at higher risk of pancreatitis.’
Pancreatitis is the inflammation of the pancreas, a gland located behind the stomach which is used in digestion and blood sugar regulation.
While there is a high survival rate for this condition, it can trigger organ failure—which can be fatal.
In some cases of severe acute pancreatitis, the pancreas can lose its blood supply and turn necrotic, which can cause deadly sepsis (a blood infection), which can in turn make other major organs fail.
Severe acute pancreatitis can also trigger a systemic inflammatory response which causes other organs—like the lungs and kidneys—to fail.
Ms Joy continued: ‘People who have uncontrolled diabetes are also at an increased risk of becoming severely dehydrated which can be really serious.
‘Without a blood test, this could be missed,’ she added.
Susan McGowan, 58, from Lanarkshire, died from multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis last year after taking two low-dose injections of tirzepatide
Officials are now examining whether jab users affected by pancreatitis have a genetic trait that leaves them at greater risk of side-effects, which Ms Joy said could also be flagged by a simple blood test.
‘Sometimes these things are subtle, but can have a massive impact.
‘We should be putting these patients at the centre and treating obesity like any other clinical health condition.’
She is now urging healthcare officials to reconsider rolling out these jabs without strict guidelines in place, as GPs struggle under time-constraints.
As such, SheMed have made blood tests a mandatory part of their programme before prescribing the revolutionary jab.
Last month, the UK medicines regulator launched a probe into the safety of fat jabs after hundreds of users developed pancreatitis, leaving ten dead.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it has received more than 560 reports of people developing an inflamed pancreas after taking so-called ‘GLP-1′ injections since they were first launched.
The MHRA is now calling for users who are admitted to hospital with pancreatitis to report the side effect to authorities using the regulator’s Yellow Card scheme.
Healthcare workers can also submit a report on patients’ behalf.
This involves providing further information and submitting a saliva sample which will be used to explore whether some people are at a higher risk of acute pancreatitis when taking these medicines due to their genetic makeup.
Researchers hope this will ultimately enable doctors to use rapid genetic screening tests before prescribing drugs to make the process safer.
Side effects continue to be a significant burden on the NHS and studies have shown they account for one in six hospital admissions.
The main symptom of pancreatitis is severe pain in the stomach that radiates to the back and does not go away. Anyone who experiences this should seek immediate medical help.
Dr Alison Cave, MHRA’s chief safety officer, said: ‘Evidence shows that almost a third of side effects to medicines could be prevented with the introduction of genetic testing.’
It is predicted that adverse drug reactions could cost the NHS more than £2.2 billion a year in hospital stays alone she added.
These blockbuster jabs have also been credited with lowering blood sugar levels for people with type 2 diabetes, but Ms Joy warned they are not a silver bullet and can come with a number of serious side effects.
Recent estimates suggest that about 1.5 million people in the UK are taking weight loss jabs, many of which are bought privately due to NHS rationing.
Most side effects linked to the jabs are gastrointestinal including nausea, constipation and diarrhoea.
However Ms Joy warned that Mounjaro can also cause severe dehydration, especially in people with diabetes.
It typically causes headaches and dizziness but if not treated quickly can even lead to seizures, kidney failure or prove fatal.
There have been further reactions and deaths linked to other side-effects following the use of GLP-1 medicines.
The MHRA stresses that it has not been established that the jabs caused the illnesses, but that the patients themselves have reported them as side effects.
Professor Matt Brown, chief scientific officer of Genomics England, said: ‘GLP-1 medicines like Ozempic and Wegovy have been making headlines, but like all medicines there can be a risk of serious side effects.
‘We believe there is real potential to minimise these with many adverse reactions having a genetic cause.
‘This next step in our partnership with the MHRA will generate data and evidence for safer and more effective treatment through more personalised approaches to prescription, supporting a shift towards an increasingly prevention-focused healthcare system.’
