Detemir vs Glargine: Comparison of Inpatient Glycemic Control

Hyperglycemia in the hospital setting is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. In an attempt to cut costs, some hospitals implement policies to substitute all glargine orders with detemir.

To examine how the substitution of glargine with detemir affects inpatient blood glucose control.

Medical records were retrospectively analyzed to investigate the effect of a hospital formulary change at a semi-urban underserved hospital that substituted detemir for glargine on a 1:1 dosing basis. The study evaluated blood glucose control from September 6, 2015, to September 5, 2016, before substitution and from September 6, 2016, to September 5, 2017, after the substitution began. Patients were included in the study if they were older than 18 years, received glargine before admission, and had type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients were excluded if they were pregnant, did not receive long-acting insulin, or lacked regular blood glucose testing. The medical records were analyzed for mean glucose levels, hypoglycemic events, and short-acting insulin administration amounts.

A total of 318 patients met criteria and were included in the retrospective analysis-134 patients received detemir and 184 patients received glargine. The mean glucose levels in the morning were 133.8 mg/dL for patients receiving detemir and 145.8 mg/dL for patients receiving glargine (95% CI, 126.972-140.753; P=.013). The mean blood glucose levels in the afternoon were 171.6 mg/dL for patients receiving detemir and 172.1 mg/dL for patients receiving glargine (95% CI, 162.955-180.344; P=.938). The mean blood glucose levels in the evening were 162.5 mg/dL for patients receiving detemir and 163.3 mg/dL for patients receiving glargine (95% CI, 153.654-171.315; P=.897). The mean blood glucose levels at night were 176.1 mg/dL for patients receiving detemir and 174.7 mg/dL for patients receiving glargine (95% CI, 167.797-184.474; P=.788). No significant difference in sliding scale insulin was required between the patient groups (0.16 U/kg insulin aspart in detemir group vs 0.18 U/kg aspart in glargine; 95% CI, 0.154-0.189; P=.297). There was no significant difference between the patient groups in regard to hypoglycemic events (45% glargine vs 49% detemir; P=.59).

Substituting detemir for glargine did not adversely affect inpatients' blood glucose control.