Stepping-down Approach in Patients With Chronic Poorly-controlled Diabetes on Advanced Insulin Therapy?

Summary

In traditional step-up approach, the patients with poorly-controlled type 2 diabetes are instructed to take up to 4 insulin injections daily or multiple daily injections (MDI) as the most advanced therapy. However, a significant number of these patients continue to have poor diabetes control. The most common reason is the noncompliance with multiple injections and the patient's reluctance to accept insulin-induced weight gain. More recently, the algorithm in diabetes management has significantly changed to accommodate the newer generation of medications. Addition of the diabetes medications, that can induce weight loss such as oral Sodium-glucose Cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) Inhibitors and once-weekly glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 receptor agonists (GLP1 RA) injection, to a basal insulin is now recommended before the patient is advanced to MDI. This approach works very well in most patients since weight loss gives the patients an extra motivation to take medication regularly. Similarly, the patient does not require to take an insulin injection before each meal throughout the day in this approach. Unfortunately, there are still a large number of patients with poor glycemic control who are still on MDI. Some of them were initiated on MDI before the availability of newer generations of medications. Some were started simply because the physician was not aware of or not the familiar with the new recommendations. Regardless of the reason, these patients are likely to remain on MDI despite chronic poor glycemic control since the physicians are understandably reluctant to step down the most advanced insulin therapy. In addition, there has been no data on the benefits and safety of the stepping-down approach from the most advanced insulin therapy to the more patient-friendly approach that is the combined use of oral SGLT2i and once-weekly GLP1 RA injection.

Timeline

Start

2016-08

Primary completion

2018-12

Completion

2018-12

Publications

• Background Herman WH, Kalyani RR, Wexler DJ, Matthews DR, Inzucchi SE. Response to Comment on American Diabetes Association. Approaches to Glycemic Treatment. Sec. 7. In Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes-2016. Diabetes Care 2016;39(Suppl. 1):S52-S59. Diabetes Care. 2016 Jun;39(6):e88-9. doi: 10.2337/dci16-0003. No abstract available.
• Background Garber AJ, Abrahamson MJ, Barzilay JI, Blonde L, Bloomgarden ZT, Bush MA, Dagogo-Jack S, DeFronzo RA, Einhorn D, Fonseca VA, Garber JR, Garvey WT, Grunberger G, Handelsman Y, Henry RR, Hirsch IB, Jellinger PS, McGill JB, Mechanick JI, Rosenblit PD, Umpierrez GE; American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE); American College of Endocrinology (ACE). CONSENSUS STATEMENT BY THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGISTS AND AMERICAN COLLEGE OF ENDOCRINOLOGY ON THE COMPREHENSIVE TYPE 2 DIABETES MANAGEMENT ALGORITHM--2016 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Endocr Pract. 2016 Jan;22(1):84-113. doi: 10.4158/EP151126.CS. No abstract available.
• Background Diamant M, Nauck MA, Shaginian R, Malone JK, Cleall S, Reaney M, de Vries D, Hoogwerf BJ, MacConell L, Wolffenbuttel BH; 4B Study Group. Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist or bolus insulin with optimized basal insulin in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2014 Oct;37(10):2763-73. doi: 10.2337/dc14-0876. Epub 2014 Jul 10.

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