Treatment of an Adolescent Female With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis–Related Cirrhosis With Liraglutide

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common chronic liver disease in children in the United States and encompasses a range of disease from steatosis to cirrhosis. The mainstay of treatment is lifestyle modifications like increased physical activity and healthier eating habits. These are sometimes augmented with medications or surgery for weight loss. We present a patient with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-related cirrhosis that did not improve with suboptimal lifestyle changes. This patient’s disease progression reversed after liraglutide treatment, as evidenced by improved imaging and laboratory results, despite no significant improvement in her body mass index percentile. This case demonstrates the importance of considering liraglutide for patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and suggests a hepatic effect independent of effects related to weight loss.