94% or more were of mild or moderate
severity. Gastrointestinal events were also the
most common reason that patients in the liraglutide
group withdrew from the trial (159 of
2481 patients [6.4%], as compared with 9 of 1242
patients [0.7%] in the placebo group) (Fig. S6 in
the Supplementary Appendix). Nausea (Fig. S7 in
the Supplementary Appendix) and vomiting occurred
primarily within the first 4 to 8 weeks
after initiation of liraglutide treatment. The incidence
of serious adverse events was higher in the
liraglutide group than in the placebo group
(Table 3). Three patients died — 1 in the liraglutide
group (with death due to cardiomegaly and
hypertensive heart disease) and 2 in the placebo
group (one death each from pulmonary fibrosis
and cardiorespiratory arrest).
Gallbladder-related events were more common
in the liraglutide group than in the placebo
group (occurring in 61 of 2481 patients
[2.5%], 3.1 events per 100 patient-years of exposure;
vs. 12 of 1242 patients [1.0%], 1.4 events
per 100 patient-years of exposure), including more
cases of cholelithiasis and cholecystitis in the
liraglutide group. Most patients who reported
cholelithiasis or cholecystitis underwent an elective
cholecystectomy (40 of 51 patients [78%] in
the liraglutide group and 6 of 8 patients [75%]
in the placebo group), and most recovered and
continued their assigned course of treatment or
had treatment reintroduced after surgery (43 of
51 patients [84%] in the liraglutide group and
6 of 8 patients [75%] in the placebo group). The
weight loss among patients with gallbladderrelated
adverse events was greater than the mean
weight loss in the total population (Fig. S8