Daniel Ta, BSc, Jerry T Dang, MD, Arya M Sharma, MD, PhD, Shahzeer Karmali, MD, MPH, Renuca Modi, MD. University of Alberta
Introduction: The objective of this study is to demonstrate the use of liraglutide in various patient scenarios in a tertiary bariatric clinic. Liraglutide is a glucagon-like peptide type 1 (GLP-1) analogue. Its efficacy for weight management has been demonstrated in various clinical trials, indicating its potential as a pharmacological option for patients with obesity.
Case Descriptions:
Case 1: A 26-year old female started liraglutide treatment to induce weight loss preoperatively. She sufficiently loss weight and successfully underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.
Case 2: A 39-year old female was assessed for obesity. To become eligible for surgery, the patient needed to lose a substantial amount of weight. She began liraglutide treatment and was successfully bridged to laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB).
Case 3: A 31-year old male started liraglutide with plans to undergo bariatric surgery. However, after successful weight loss, the patient opted to cancel the procedure and remain on long-term liraglutide due to its flexibility in lifestyle and behavior.
Case 4: A 29-year old female started liraglutide and successfully lost weight. However, the patient was paying for liraglutide out of pocket, and was forced to discontinue. As a result, she experienced weight recidivism. The patient elected to go back on liraglutide on a lower dose to decrease cost and was subsequently able to lose weight. She successfully underwent laparoscopic RYGB.
Case 5: A 51-year old female underwent successfully laparoscopic RYGB. However, over the years, she began to experience weight recidivism. When she began liraglutide therapy, her weight recidivism reversed, and she lost weight.
Case 6: A 39-year old female had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and infertility. The patient wished to pursue in vitro fertilization (IVF) but was advised to reduce her BMI prior to treatment. She was referred to a bariatric clinic and began liraglutide therapy. She was able to reduce her BMI and successfully underwent IVF shortly after.
Conclusion: This case series provides evidence that liraglutide may potentially be a useful pharmacological option in a bariatric clinic. Patients in our cases tolerated liraglutide well, however, liraglutide has been associated with nausea and vomiting, gastroparesis and esophageal dysmotility. Liraglutide is a useful adjunct in a multispecialty bariatric clinic for weight loss. Liraglutide can be used in various patient scenarios: as a bridge to bariatric surgery, for long-term weight loss or to pursue fertility treatment. Further research on liraglutide should be performed, especially in these various patient scenarios to determine its efficacy.
Presented at the SAGES 2017 Annual Meeting in Houston, TX.
Abstract ID: 94191
Program Number: P148
Presentation Session: Poster Session (Non CME)
Presentation Type: Poster
sages_adbutler_leaderboard