Clinical outcomes associated with prior glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist exposure in burned patients.

Cohort studyThe British journal of surgery· May 2026

Clinical outcomes associated with prior glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist exposure in burned patients.

Adam Boukind, Aviral C Sharma, Marco J Henriquez, Saif Badran

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Burns & Wound ReconstructionCohort studyQ1IF 2.9

Prior GLP-1 receptor agonist use associated with lower odds of death after burn injury

Clinical outcomes associated with prior glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist exposure in burned patients.

Adam Boukind … Saif Badran

The British journal of surgery · May 2026 · Q1 in Surgery

Background

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties beyond glycaemic control.

Purpose

The aim of this study was to assess the potential impact of prior GLP-1 receptor agonist exposure on mortality, infectious complications, and critical care utilization in burn patients.

Methods

With documented GLP-1 receptor agonist use within 1 year before burn injury were propensity score matched with controls for age, sex, race, co-morbidities, total body surface area, BMI, and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c).

n = 8307 patients

Results

prior GLP-1 use nearly halved the odds of death after burn injury

OR 0.46 (95% CI 0.46 to 0.46)

CI excludes the null - significant

More results

Infectious complications were significantly decreased, including sepsis (32% reduction), pneumonia (24% reduction), and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infection (27% reduction).

The odds of broad-spectrum antibiotic use decreased 21%.

More results

Benefits persisted across all exposure windows.

The 3-year cohort demonstrated a 27% increase in hypertrophic scarring (OR 1.27, P = 0.031).

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

Prior GLP-1 receptor agonist use was associated with a significant decrease in mortality, infectious complications, and critical care utilization among burn patients, independent of metabolic factors like BMI.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

These findings warrant prospective studies to optimize perioperative management strategies in this patient population.

Clinical outcomes associated with prior glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist exposure in burned patients.

Clinical outcomes associated with prior glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist exposure in burned patients.

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