Weight Loss Interventions for Morbidly Obese Patients with Compensated Cirrhosis: A Markov Decision Analysis Model

Many transplant centers require that patients maintain a BMI below 40 kg/m(2) in order to be eligible for listing, rendering many morbidly obese patients with end-stage liver disease unable to access liver transplantation as a method of treatment. In order to determine the safest and most efficacious weight loss regimen in this challenging population, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), adjustable gastric banding (AGB), and diet and exercise were modeled to assess their impact on life expectancy in morbidly obese patients with cirrhosis. A Markov state transition model was developed to assess the survival benefit of undergoing RYGB, AGB, or 1 year of diet and exercise in morbidly obese patients with compensated cirrhosis. A base case analysis of no weight loss intervention in a 45-year-old patient with compensated cirrhosis and a BMI of 45 kg/m(2) revealed an average survival of 7.93 years. The average survival for the weight loss simulations was 9.14, 8.84, and 8.16 years for RYGB, AGB, and diet and exercise, respectively. In morbidly obese patients with compensated cirrhosis, RYGB allows patients to lose more weight more rapidly than is probable with either AGB or diet and exercise, thus having the greatest impact on survival.