Clinical Utility of Switching to Insulin Degludec From Other Basal Insulins in Adult Patients With Type 1 or Type 2...

The effects of switching Canadians from other basal insulins to degludec (IDeg) in an outpatient setting are unknown. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of switching insulin-treated adults with either type 1 (T1DM) or type 2 (T2DM) diabetes mellitus to IDeg.

This was a retrospective observational cohort study of Albertans who were switched to IDeg between December 1, 2018, and December 1, 2019, and followed until March 1, 2020. We used administrative databases (provincial cohort) and electronic medical records (clinic cohort) to gather data and interrupted time series for the primary outcome analysis.

We analyzed a provincial cohort of 5,294 patients, 287 of whom were also included in the clinic cohort (T1DM, n=80; T2DM, n=207). After switching to IDeg, glycated hemoglobin (A1C) decreased by -0.3 (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.4% to -0.2%) and the reduction in A1C was maintained throughout the follow-up period. Rates of all-cause hospitalizations/emergency department visits per patient were not affected (hospitalizations pre-switch 0.07 [95% CI, 0.07 to 0.08], post-switch 0.08 [95% CI, 0.06 to 0.09], p=0.45; ED visits pre-switch 0.25 [95% CI, 0.23 to 0.27], post-switch 0.26 [95% CI, 0.23 to 0.29], p=0.27). In the clinic cohort, at switch, there was an average basal insulin dose reduction of 11.2% (T1DM), 12.3% (T2DM) and 16.3% (patients with insulin resistance).

Patients with inadequate glycemic control or who find their basal insulin dosing inconvenient may benefit from switching to Ideg, with the potential for small improvementa in A1C at lower basal insulin doses.