Background:
Sodium–glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are group of medications that reduce plasma glucose by reduction of glucose reabsorption in kidney (1).
They have favorable effects on glycaemic control, weight and blood pressure (2-5). Uro-genital tract infections are the most common side effects reported in 4-5% of patients (6-7).
This study assesses the safety and efficacy of SGLT2 inhibitors in a real -world public diabetes outpatient setting.
Method:
This is an extension of a retrospective study on patients with type 2 diabetes who were treated with SGLT2 inhibitors in the diabetic clinics across Eastern Health, between 2014 and 2019.
All statistical computations were performed using SPSS version 23.0. Descriptive statistics were analysed by T tests, Pearsons and ANOVA correlations and Multivariate analysis.
Results:
One hundred patients were included in the study, 42% of them were women. The mean age was 58.5 years. Patients were treated with dapagliflozin or empagliflozin.
Adverse events noted in 50 patients which led to discontinuation of SGLT2 inhibitor in 19 of them (Table 1). No ketoacidosis was reported. The SGLT2 inhibitor was discontinued in 28 patients due to genital infection (8%), worsening of glycaemic control (8%), urinary tract infection (3%), urinary frequency (3%), weight gain (2%), price (2%) and worsening of renal function (2%).
Significant decrease noted from baseline in HbA1c (-0.61%), weight (-4.7 kg), systolic (-8.8 mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure (-3.7 mm Hg), ALT and GGT. HDL cholesterol also increased significantly (Table 2). Changes in HbA1c and weight were more significant in the first 3 months of therapy (Figure 1,2).
Discussion:
Despite the significant benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors shown in this study in improving glycaemic control, weight, blood pressure, liver function tests and HDL cholesterol levels, the SGLT2 inhibitor was discontinued in nearly 1 out of 3 patients in real clinical setting.