doi: 10.23137/AOM24.03.CR0002 Citation BibTeX RIS Mendeley

The Impact of Obesity Treatment on Liver Function in a Patient with Cirrhosis: A Case Report of a 20-Year-Old Male

비만 치료가 간경화 환자의 간기능에 미치는 영향: 20대 남성 환자 증례

• Bo-Kyung Shine (Department of Family Medicine, Dong-A University Hospital, Busan)
• Seong-Ho Han (Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Dong-A)

Obesity is closely associated with liver disease and is a major cirrhosis aggravating factor. This case report aimed to evaluate the treatment strategy for obesity and its clinical effects in a patient with concurrent obesity and cirrhosis. After 3 months of treatment with liraglutide and phentermine/topiramate, the patient's body weight decreased by 8 kg (6.7%), and the body mass index (BMI) was reduced from 37.3 to 34.9 kg/m2. The albumin level increased by 0.8 mg/dl, reflecting a 25% improvement compared to baseline. The prothrombin time, measured as international normalized ratio (INR), decreased by 0.12 units (8.6%), and the model for end-stage liver disease-Na (MELD-Na) score improved significantly, decreasing from 16 to 11. This case report highlights the impact of early intervention for obesity in a young patient with obesity and cirrhosis, as well as the effects of obesity medications on liver fibrosis. Our findings showed that considering the pharmacological properties and weight loss effect of obesity drugs, they may become an important therapeutic option for the management of liver fibrosis. However, more research is needed to evaluate their efficacy.