Introduction:

There is concern that glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP1) receptor agonists may be associated with acute pancreatitis. The data from the ABCD nationwide liraglutide audit (November 2009–June 2013; 6010 patients) provide an opportunity to assess the extent of the problem in routine clinical practice in the UK.

Methods:

At every patient visit, audit-contributors were invited to submit, via an electronic form, clinical data collected as part of routine clinical practice, including data on possible side effects of treatment. Cases of ‘possible pancreatitis’ were identified and we contacted the centres concerned to obtain full details.

Results:

To date, the audit has monitored 3720 years of exposure to liraglutide. There were four cases of possible pancreatitis documented from the 6010 patients on liraglutide: three patients had likely causes of pancreatitis identified and one patient had no aetiological cause. This sole case represents an incidence of 0.027/100 patient-years of exposure to liraglutide.

Conclusion:

In cases of acute pancreatitis of a patient on liraglutide, if another cause can be found (usually gall stones associated with obesity), the drug is not be necessarily culpable. People with Type 2 diabetes are at greater risk of acute pancreatitis (hazard ratio between 1.5 and 2.8). Thus, the possibility of liraglutide-associated pancreatitis in ‘real-world’ clinical practice (0.027/100 patient years) represents a very small risk.