Certain diabetes patients may benefit from better targeted use of empagliflozin and possibly other sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors, according to research from the Diabetes Collaborative Registry presented Sept. 14 at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting in Munich, Germany.

Suzanne V. Arnold, MD, et al., used results of the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial and applied them to eligible outpatients from the Diabetes Collaborative Registry in order to determine the potential, “real world” impact of empagliflozin and other SGLT-2 inhibitor treatments on patients with type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Results showed that out of 979,175 patients in Registry, about one in six met the main eligibility requirement for EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial. Of the eligible patients, only 3.9 percent were treated with an SGLT-2 inhibitor and were more likely to be younger, male, have lower creatinine and less heart failure.

“Assuming similar risk reductions in this ‘real-world’ patient population as observed in EMPA-REG OUTCOME, if all potentially eligible patients in [Registry] were treated with empagliflozin for three years, this may have prevented 1,149 deaths, 1,011 cardiovascular deaths, and 643 hospitalizations for heart failure,” assert Arnold, et al.

The authors conclude that expanded and targeted use of empagliflozin and other SGLT-2 inhibitors in eligible patients – particularly those at high risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes, “could significantly reduce cardiovascular morbidity/mortality.” 

Keywords: Benzhydryl Compounds, Creatinine, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Glucose, Glucosides, Heart Failure, Hospitalization, Hypoglycemic Agents, Outpatients, Registries, Risk Reduction Behavior, Sodium, Sodium-Glucose Transporter 2, National Cardiovascular Data Registries, Diabetes Collaborative Registry

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