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Efficacy and Safety of Intragastric Balloon (IGB) in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): a Comprehensive Review and Meta-analysis

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Abstract

Intragastric balloon (IGB) therapy has shown efficacy in weight loss but its role in NAFLD remains unknown. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of IGB in NAFLD. Meta-analysis was performed to estimate the pooled proportion of patients with improvement in steatosis as determined by imaging and histology following IGB placement. Nine studies were included in our analysis. Four hundred forty-two IGBs were placed. Improvement in steatosis was seen in 79.2% of patients and NAS in 83.5% of patients, and HOMA-IR score improved in 64.5% of patients. A reduction in liver volume by CT scan was noticed in 93.9% of patients undergoing IGB placement. IGB is an effective and safe short-term therapeutic modality for patients with NAFLD.

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Abbreviations

CI:

confidence interval

NR:

not reported

NA:

not applicable

PRISMA:

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

BMI:

body mass index

TBWL:

total body weight loss

EWL:

excess weight loss.

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Acknowledgments

Dana Gerberi, MLIS, Librarian, Mayo Clinic Libraries, is acknowledged for the help with the systematic literature search.

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Contributions

SC, AF, and DGA: conception and design and drafting of the article.

BPM, SC, SRK, NB, and LKK: study search, review, and selection.

BPM, SRK, SC, and DR: data collection and synthesis.

BPM: statistical analysis of data and interpretation of results.

All authors: critical revision of the article for important intellectual content and final approval of the article.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Douglas G. Adler.

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DGA is consultant at Boston Scientific. All other authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Chandan, S., Mohan, B.P., Khan, S.R. et al. Efficacy and Safety of Intragastric Balloon (IGB) in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): a Comprehensive Review and Meta-analysis. OBES SURG 31, 1271–1279 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-020-05084-0

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