Real-world therapeutic benefits of patients on insulin glargine versus NPH insulin

The addition of a single injection of insulin to the oral drugs (basal supported oral therapy; BOT) has been shown to greatly reduce blood glucose levels. The intermediate-acting NPH insulin (NPH) and the long-acting insulin glargine (Lantus(®)) have been compared for use in BOT in numerous clinical trials; however, their efficacy and safety in a real-life setting have not been described.

TIP (therapeutic benefits of patients on insulin glargine vs. NPH insulin being poorly controlled on prior short-time basal-insulin supported therapy with NPH insulin or insulin glargine) is a non-interventional, multicentre, observational study over 24 weeks. A total of 2629 patients were enrolled and 1931 were fully evaluable (1614 insulin glargine, 303 NPH insulin). Propensity scoring (PSM) was used to match 570 patients into 2 similar cohorts of 285 patients.

In the PSM cohort, a slightly greater reduction in FBG and HbA1c levels was seen in the insulin glargine group compared to the NPH group. A weight loss, which was slightly more pronounced in insulin glargine patients despite receiving a lower insulin dose relative to the NPH group, was seen in both the groups. Additionally, hypoglycaemia, including nocturnal and severe events, was more prevalent in the patients receiving BOT with NPH. The occurrence of new micro- or macro-vascular complications and adverse events was low for both groups. A large proportion of patients changed from NPH therapy to insulin glargine therapy during the study, which was mainly attributable to insufficient glucose modulation. Improvements in quality of life and treatment satisfaction were found for both types of insulin.

This observational study provides evidence from a real-life setting that BOT with insulin glargine provides slightly greater reductions in weight, FBG and HbA1c levels, with a lower risk of hypoglycaemia than patients receiving NPH. This conclusion indicates that insulin glargine may be preferable to NPH insulin for BOT.