Diabetes Therapeutics Flashcards
When we consider insulin in a new diagnosis (ADA)
Symptomatic and/or have an AIC of 10% or more and/or CBGs 300 of higher
Insulin should always be considered if A1C is around 9-10% (this doesn’t mean the patient will be on it forever!)
Guideline recommendations for patient with long-standing suboptimally controlled T2DM and ASCVD
Empagliflozin or liraglutide (shown to reduce CV and all-cause mortality in combo with standard care)
Considerations for treating diabetes in older adults
Reduced life expectancy, higher CVD burden, reduced GFR, at risk for adverse events from polypharmacy, more likely to be compromised from hypoglycemia
Consider less ambitious targets (<7.5-8% if tighter targets not easily achieved)
Recommendations for reasonable A1C treatment goals in older adults based on level of health
Healthy (<7.5%)
Comorbidities (<8%)
Very complex/poor health (<8.5%)
*the key is to individualize
Considerations in treating a diabetic with renal disease
Increased risk of hypoglycemia
Avoid glyburide, use other insulin secretagogues cautiously
Reduce metformin dose when eGFR <45 and avoid if less than 30
Most DPP4 inhibitors require dose adjustment
avoid exenatide if CrCl <30 ml/min
avoid SGLT2 inhibitors for eGFR <45-60 (agent specific)
Which agents have minimal hypoglycemia risk?
Thiazolidinediones, DPP4s, SGLT2s and GLP-1s
Insulin and sulfonylureas should be avoided
Considerations for those with coronary disease
Avoid hypoglycemia
Empagliflozin reduces CV events in high-risk patients
Liraglutide reduces CV events in high-risk patients
Considerations for those with heart failure
Metformin is ok unless HF is severe or unstable
Avoid thiazolidinediones
Warning with DPP4i saxagliptin
Potential benefit with SGLT2 inhibitors based on diuretic effect
Liraglutide reduced CV outcomes in high-risk patients
EMPA-REG outcome(s)
Reduction in CV death, death from any cause and HF hospitalizations (with Empagliflozin compared with placebo)
LEADER outcome(s)
Reduction in CV death, death from any cause and microvascular outcomes
No reduction in HF hospitalizations, nonfatal MI or nonfatal stroke
LEADER vs EMPA-REG
The time to effect was delayed in the LEADER trial (Liraglutide, > 12-18 months) compared with EMPA-REG (< 3 months)
Considerations for those with liver dysfunction
Most drugs not tested in advanced liver disease
Pioglitazone and metformin may be beneficial for NAFLD but should be avoided in active or advanced liver disease
Insulin best option for patients with advanced disease
Considerations for those with obesity
Obesity can contribute to insulin resistance
Preference for or weight neutral or weight loss agents
Diet, physical activity and behavior changes (goal at least 5% weight loss)
Consider weight loss medications as adjunct to lifestyle
Consider or recommend metabolic surgery (if BMI > 30)
Which medications are ideal if patient wants to avoid weight gain?
DPP4, SGLT2 and GLP-1 agonist, metformin
Sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones and insulin should be avoided
What medications are ideal if the patient wants to minimize cost?
Sulfonylureas, thiazoidinediones, metformin
DPP4, SGLT2, GLP1 and Insulin should all be avoided (except for insulin N/R 70/30 which is cheap at walmart)
Initial daily dose of insulin for T1DM
0.3-0.5 units/kg/day
Diabetes in pregnancy
Metformin + insulin preferred (glyburide now inferior)
Levemir, Humalog and Novolog (category B); Lantus (category C)
Tighter glycemic control indicated (especially for those with pre-existing T2/T1DM): bedtime 60-99, postprandial 100-129, A1C <6%
General guidelines for initiating/titrating insulin in T2DM
Start 10 U/day or 0.1-0.2 U/kg/day
Adjust 10-15% or 2-4 units once or twice weekly to reach FBG target
For hypo, do the opposite of the increase dose adjustment
Initiating basal insulin algorithm
Bedtime NPH, detemir glargine (start with 10 units or 0.1-0.2 U/kg and increase weekly/bi-weekly by 10-15% or 2-4 units)
If hypoglycemia then decrease by 10-20% or 4 units
If A1C not controlled after FBG reached and basal dose >0.5 U/kg/day add post-prandial insulin or consider GLP-1 agonist
Dosing consideration for insulin detemir
Dose dependent duration of action (6 hours at low doses-23 hours at high doses)
Appropriate to start with qd dosing and split later on if insulin appears to be wearing off
Dosing considerations for insulin degludenc
Can be injected at variable times so could be advantageous in patients with poor adherence
When is it time to consider adding on bolus or meal-time insulin?
When fasting glucose is under control but A1C remains greater than goal after 3-6 months of basal insulin
If titration of basal insulin leads to nocturnal hypoglycemia
When basal doses exceed 0.5 U/kg/day
General dosing of adding mealtime insulin before patients largest meal
Start with 4, adjust by 2 units every 3 days until CBG within range
What is an insulin sliding scale
Catching up
Uses a correction factor which refers to use of additional short or rapid-acting insulin in addition to scheduled insulin doses
Calculating ISF
1500 for regular/TDD
1800 for rapid/TDD
Target BG - Actual BG/ISF = # of units needed to correct
Usually want to skip or decrease correction dose by 1/2 at bedtime to avoid hypoglycemia
Insulin Carbohydrate ratio
In general, approximately 1 unit per 10-15 g CHO
500/TDD = grams of carbs covered
Lab values that define normal range (not diabetic)
FPG 70-99
2-hour Plasma Glucose 100-139
A1C 4.5-5.6%
Lab values that define pre-diabetes
FPG 100-125
2-hour Plasma Glucose 140-199
A1C 5.6-6.4%
Lab values that define diabetes
FPG 126 or higher
2-hour Plasma glucose 200 or higher
A1C 6.5% or higher
Diagnosis should be confirmed by repeat testing unless RBG 200 or more with overt symptoms of hyperglycemia
Gestational diabetes risk factors
Ethnicity (African-American, Native American, Asian), obesity, age over 25, family history of T2DM, signs of insulin resistance (PCOS, lipids), maternal history of gestational diabetes, prior delivery of baby exceeding 9 pounds
*screen all with risk factors or at the 24-28 week mark
Frequency all adults should be tested for T2DM
All adults 45 or over should be tested every 3 years (if normal)
How often is urinary albumin excretion assessed?
Annually
Vaccine recommendations in diabetics
Influenza (annually)
Pneumococcal (PPSV23 x 1; PPSV23 & PCV12 for those 65 or older)
HepB vaccine series recommended for adults 19-59
General blood pressure goal in diabetics
under 140/90
130/80 could be used in patients that can handle a stricter goal
Lipid management in diabetes
Statin therapy often recommended
In adults not taking a statin, check lipid profile at diagnosis and then at least every 5 years
When taking a statin, lipids should be checked periodically to assess response to therapy and adherence
Therapy recommendation for patient (age >40) with ASCVD who cannot tolerate high-intensity statin therapy
Moderate intensity statin + ezetimibe
Also used in those with ACS and LDL of 50 or more (IMPROVE-IT trial)
Which STATINs are high-intensity? What are their dosage strengths?
Rosuvastatin 20-40mg
Atorvastatin 40-80mg
Recommended anti-platelet therapy in diabetes
Low-dose aspirin (75-162 mg/day) indicated for primary prevention in those with increased CV risk (10-year risk >10%) - includes most men/women 50+ years of age with at least 1 additional risk factor
Aspirin not recommended for those with 10-year risk <5% (between 5-10%, use clinical judgement)
Use aspirin as a secondary prevention in those with diabetes and a history of ASCVD (clopidogrel 75mg if aspirin allergy)
Dual therapy acceptable up to 1 year after ACS