Clinical and Cost Implications of Insulin Degludec in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes and Problematic Hypoglycemia:A Quality Improvement Project

Abstract

Introduction To assess the real-life clinical benefits and cost implications of switching from another basal insulin to insulin degludec (degludec) in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) on basal–bolus regimens with recurrent hypoglycemia and/or hypoglycemia unawareness. Methods Patients with T1D who were aged ≥ 18 years, were on a basal–bolus regimen, and had switched to degludec plus bolus insulin for at least 6 months were included. Patients had to have switched to degludec as a result of recurrent hypoglycemia and/or hypoglycemia unawareness. Results Six months of follow-up data were available for 42 patients. At 6 months, there was a significant reduction in median (interquartile range) HbA1c, from 8.6 (8.0–9.3)% [70 (64–78) mmol/mol] to 8.4 (7.9–8.9)% [68 (63–74) mmol/mol]; p < 0.05. Median daily basal insulin dose reduced significantly from 30.0 (14.7–45.0) to 25.5 (14.0–30.2) units; p < 0.0001. Data from hospital records showed reductions in the frequency of episodes of severe hypoglycemia from eight in the 6 months preceding degludec initiation to two in the 6 months following initiation. In the same period, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) episodes reduced from two before degludec initiation to no episodes after initiation. No patients reported worsening treatment satisfaction after switching to degludec. Considering the reductions in the basal dose required and the frequency of hypoglycemia episodes, we estimate that switching such patients to degludec from other basal insulins could provide significant savings in direct healthcare costs. Conclusion In patients with T1D, switching to degludec was associated with an improvement in HbA1c and reductions in basal insulin dose, severe hypoglycemia, and DKA. When used in appropriate patients, degludec could lead to significant cost savings.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13300-018-0400-x
Divisions: College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Biosciences
College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Biosciences > Cell & Tissue Biomedical Research
College of Health & Life Sciences
College of Health & Life Sciences > Chronic and Communicable Conditions
Additional Information: Copyright: The Authors This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. Funding: Novo Nordisk
Uncontrolled Keywords: Healthcare delivery,Hypoglycemia ,Insulin degludec,Insulin therapy,Type 1 diabetes
Publication ISSN: 1869-6953
Last Modified: 11 Mar 2024 08:21
Date Deposited: 22 Mar 2018 08:13
Full Text Link: http://link.spr ... 3300-018-0400-x
Related URLs: http://link.spr ... 3300-018-0400-x (Publisher URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2018-04
Published Online Date: 2018-03-16
Accepted Date: 2016-02-29
Authors: Karamat, Muhammad Ali
Dar, Shujah
Bellary, Srikanth (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-5924-5278)
Tahrani, Abd A.

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