Safety data
Premature withdrawals were similar in
the orlistat (33.3%) and the placebo
group (37.2%) during the 3-year trial.
The withdrawals due to adverse events
were 5% in both groups, while the remainder
of the withdrawals were due to
protocol violation (not enough time, etc.).
The only differences in adverse events between
the two groups were due to the expected
increase in gastrointestinal
complications in the orlistat group compared
with placebo. These included fatty/
oily stool (23 vs. 2.5%), oily spotting
(17.5 vs. 0%), abdominal pain (21.5 vs.
16%), and fecal urgency (8.5 vs. 5%) in
the orlistat and placebo groups, respectively.
In total, 88% in the orlistat group
experienced one or more gastrointestinal
events (minor, moderate, or severe) during
the study compared with 63% in the
placebo group (P 0.01). There were 18
subjects in the orlistat group and 28 subjects
in the placebo group that experienced
a serious adverse event (NS).