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Empagliflozin use in patients with type 2 diabetes following cardiac transplantation appears to be safe and beneficial, according to study results presented at ENDO 2017: the 99th Annual Meeting & Expo, April 1-4, in Orlando, Florida
Researchers from St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, Australia conducted an analysis of empagliflozin in patients who received heart transplants (N=316). Type 2 diabetes was prevalent in 33% of patients (mean age, 55.8; 71% men) with an average duration of disease of 7.9 years and average time from transplantation of 9.6 years.
A total of 19 patients were treated with empagliflozin in addition to standard therapy. Hypertension and chronic kidney disease were present in 18 and 17 patients, respectively. Patients started empagliflozin after transplant at a median of 5.5 years and the median treatment duration was 9 months.
A significant mean body weight reduction was seen with empagliflozin (2.7 kg; P =.05) as well as body mass index (BMI) (.09 kg/m2; P =.04). In addition, systolic blood pressure was reduced by 12 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure was reduced by 7 mm Hg (both P =.03). Only 2 patients experienced side effects with empagliflozin after 147 months of exposure, and there were no serious adverse events or genitourinary infections.
“It remains to be determined whether empagliflozin improves cardiovascular outcomes in transplant recipients, but our data suggest that treatment is associated with metabolic benefits including reduction in weight and blood pressure without adversely effecting renal function,” the researchers wrote.
Reference
Muir CA, Greenfield JR, Macdonald P. Empagliflozin use in the management of diabetes following cardiac transplantation. Abstract 76. Presented at: ENDO 2017: the 99th Annual Meeting & Expo. April 1-4, 2017; Orlando, Florida.
