LAUSR

The cardiovascular (CV) benefits of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have been demonstrated in long-term clinical trials. In the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial, the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin (EMPA), compared with placebo (PBO), significantly reduced the risk of CV death and hospitalisation for heart failure (HHF) in patients with T2D and established CV disease, with a median follow-up time of 3.1 years. To investigate the early benefits and safety associated with use of EMPA in patients enrolled in the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial according to heart failure (HF) status at baseline. We evaluated the effects of treatments on glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and on the clinical endpoints of HHF, HHF or CV death, and HHF or all-cause mortality (ACM), as well as the occurrence of adverse events (AEs), at 12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after randomisation. Outcomes data were explored descriptively at 12 weeks, and assessed by Cox regression models adjusting for baseline risk factors at 6 months, and 1 year, whereas safety data were explored descriptively. Effects on HbA1c were evaluated using a Mixed Model Repeated Measures (MMRM) model. A total of 7020 participants, 706 (10%) with investigator-reported HF at baseline, were randomised to PBO, or two different doses of EMPA (10 mg or 25 mg once daily). In patients with HF at baseline, the adjusted mean differences in HbA1c between pooled EMPA and PBO at 12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after randomisation were −0.55, −0.54 and −0.53%-point, respectively, p<0.001 vs PBO for all, with similar results in those without HF (p for interactions 0.822, 0.939 and 0.539 at 12 weeks, 6 months and 1 year, respectively). Already at 12 weeks, patients assigned to EMPA had a lower frequency of all evaluated clinical outcome events (HHF, HHF or CV death, HHF or ACM) compared with PBO, regardless of HF status. This effect was sustained and significant at 6 months and 1 year in those with and without HF (see Figure). During the same time frame, the rates of AEs were generally higher in those with HF than without HF, but were not increased by the use of EMPA. At 1 year, any AE occurred in 206 (84.4%) and 1694 (81.1%) patients with and without HF, respectively, on PBO vs 363 (78.6%) and 3246 (76.8%) patients with and without HF on EMPA; any serious AE at 1 year occurred in 79 (32.4%) and 447 (21.4%) patients with and without HF on PBO vs 105 (22.7%) and 764 (18.1%) of those with and without HF on EMPA. In the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial, EMPA led to early beneficial effects on morbidity and mortality outcomes in patients with T2D with or without HF, which were not offset by an increased risk of AEs.