Mark Warren, MD: In the SWITCH 1 and SWITCH 2 trials, glargine and degludec were compared in a crossover fashion. The SWITCH 1 trial involved patients with type 1 diabetes; SWITCH 2 involved patients with type 2. And all these patients were patients who were high risk for hypoglycemia. So, we enriched the trial with patients who were at higher risk for hypoglycemia, and the goal was to see if there’s any differences in hypoglycemia between degludec and U100 glargine insulin. What we found was a very consistent reduction in hypoglycemia with degludec compared with U100 glargine, anywhere from 30% to 50%. There was 40% less nocturnal hypoglycemia and 50% less severe hypoglycemia, which goes along with what we thought would happen since these insulins have less variability in their absorption from day to day.
The clinical trials ultimately showed us that degludec gives a significant reduction in hypoglycemia, clinically significant as well as statistically significant. They’re extremely important when we treat diabetes, and these are patients who, again, had a higher risk of hypoglycemia. Just the reduction in nocturnal hypoglycemia is very important, because patients really have a phobia of nocturnal hypoglycemia, because they’re not alert and awake and they’re afraid of having a severe episode of hypoglycemia at night. So, they tend to preempt that by eating more, taking less insulin, etc. These are very important findings in the SWITCH 1 and SWITCH 2 studies.
A Focus on Women: AUA Best Posters Highlight Female Athletes, Prenatal Care, and Women in Urology
May 9th 2024Three posters from the American Urological Association (AUA) 2024 Annual Meeting focused on urinary incontinence in female athletes, prenatal care for fetuses with spina bifida in California, and the experiences of women residents at the Brady Urological Institute.
Read More
Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity: Urban Health Outreach
May 9th 2024In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Listen
CMS Medicare Final Rule: Advancing Benefits, Competition, and Consumer Protection
May 7th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Karen Iapoce, senior director of government products and programs at ZeOmega, about the recent CMS final rule on Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage.
Listen