Abstract
Numerous referrals to our Obesity Unit state that ‘treatment with Orlistat did not work’. This surprised us, since Orlistat has been well documented to result in long-term sustained moderate weight loss. A simple questionnaire to 70 such patients, however, revealed that in many cases the referral physician had not observed basic rules and regulations, nor given appropriate information on Orlistat use.
References
Apfelbaum M, Vague P, Ziegler O, Hanotin C, Thomas F, Leutenegger E . Long-term maintenance of weight loss after a very-low-calorie diet: a randomized blinded trial of the efficacy and tolerability of sibutramine. Am J Med 1999; 106: 179–184.
James WP, Astrup A, Finer N, Hilsted J, Kopelman P, Rössner S, Saris WHM, Van Gaal LF, for the STORM study Group.Effect of sibutramine on weight maintenance after weight loss: a randomized trial. Lancet 2000; 356: 2119–2125.
Hill JO, Hauptman J, Anderson JW, Fujioka K, O'Neil PM, Smith DK, Aronne LJ . Orlistat, a lipase inhibitor, for weight maintenance after conventional dieting: a 1-y study. Am J Clin Nutr 1999; 69: 1108–1116.
Sjostrom L, Rissanen A, Andersen T, Boldrin M, Golay A, Koppeschaar HP, Krempj M . Randomised placebo-controlled trial of orlistat for weight loss and prevention of weight regain in obese patients. Lancet 1998; 352: 167–172.
Rössner S, Sjöström L, Noack R, Meinders E, Noseda G . Weight loss, weight maintenance, and improved cardiovascular risk factors after 2 years treatment with orlistat for obesity. Obes Res 2000; 8: 49–61.
Lindgärde F . The effect of orlistat on body weight and coronary heart disease risk profile in obese patients: the Swedish Multimorbidity Study. J Intern Med 2000; 248: 245–254.
Linné Y, Rössner S . Short Communication. Referral letters to an obesity unit—relationship between doctor and patient information. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2000; 24: 1379–1380.
Womble LG, Wadden TA, Berkowitz RI, Sarwer DB, Rothman RA . Long-term medication use and weight loss maintenance: an observational study. Obes Res 2001; 9: 652–653.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Linné, Y., Rooth, P. & Rössner, S. Success rate of Orlistat in primary-care practice is limited by failure to follow prescribing recommendations: the referral letter content vs clinical reality. Int J Obes 27, 1434–1435 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802401
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802401
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Cardiovascular co-medication among users of antiobesity drugs: a population-based study
Pharmacy World & Science (2010)
-
Influence of intense multidisciplinary follow-up and orlistat on weight reduction in a primary care setting
BMC Family Practice (2005)