• Muhammad Imran Butt, Hadeel Aljamei, Muhammad Riazuddin, Lamia AlHaqbani, Roaa Albalwi, Fayha Farraj Mansour Abothenain, Nahlah Abdullah Mohammed Alagla, and Najeeb Waheed.
• From the Department of Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Ann Saudi Med. 2023 Jan 1; 43 (1): 505650-56.

BackgroundSodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are new agents for treating type 2 diabetes. In addition to the glycemic benefits, these agents provide cardiorenal protection in patients with diabetes and without diabetes. There is consistent evidence that these agents increase the risk of genitourinary infections and dehydration, but randomized controlled trials have not included patients from the Middle East.ObjectivesDetermine the efficacy and safety of empagliflozin, specifically whether the genitourinary infection risk differs in our population and whether there is an increased risk of dehydration, ketoacidosis, hypoglycemia, and hospitalization with fasting.DesignRetrospective review of medical records.SettingsDepartment of medicine at tertiary care center.Patients And MethodsWe reviewed the electronic records of patients with type 2 diabetes who took empagliflozin from 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019. We collected safety and efficacy data for 12 months from the initiation of treatment.Main Outcomes MeasuresGlycemic and weight loss efficacy, risk of hospitalization due to hypoglycemia, dehydration, and genitourinary infections.Sample Size637 patients.ResultsWe observed an improvement in glycated hemoglobin, a 4.2% weight loss, improved left ventricular function, stable serum creatinine, and reduced albuminuria. Our patients did not have an increased risk of genitourinary infections, hypoglycemia, dehydration, ketoacidosis, or hospitalizations. Fasting did not increase the incidence of adverse events.ConclusionsEmpagliflozin is safe and effective in our local population. We hypothesize that glycosuria induced by empagliflozin is not the sole contributor to the increased risk of genitourinary infections. Local hygiene and circumcision might reduce this risk. Empagliflozin can be used safely during fasting.LimitationsRetrospective design.Conflict Of InterestNone.

18 keywords...

hide…