Comparative efficacy and safety of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors for renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

In this study, the summarized WMDs and RRs were calculated using a pairwise analysis and a network meta-analysis with a random effects model, to compare and rank the efficacy and safety of SGLT-2i for renal outcomes in patients with T2DM. Among 1894 identified articles, 30 trials including 50,244 patients with T2DM were evaluated. Network analysis revealed that the administration of canagliflozin was associated with a reduced risk of renal impairment (surface under the cumulative ranking: 90.8%). Further, although the administration of SGLT-2i was not associated with the risk of renal impairment (RR = 0.88, 95%CI = 0.68–1.15, p = 0.354), the administration of empagliflozin was associated with a reduced risk of renal impairment compared to that with the administration of placebo (RR = 0.74, 95%CI = 0.62–0.90, p = 0.002). Moreover, compared with the administration of a placebo, the administration of 50, 100, and 200 mg of canagliflozin was associated with lower serum creatinine levels. Furthermore, compared with the administration of a placebo, the administration of 100 mg canagliflozin, 2.5 mg dapagliflozin, and 25 mg empagliflozin was associated with a lower reduction in the estimated glomerular filtration rate. Except for 300 mg canagliflozin, all SGLT-2i were associated with greater increases in blood urea nitrogen levels (WMD = 1.39, 95%CI = 1.20–1.59, p < 0.001). Finally, the administration of all SGLT-2i significantly increased the ratio of urinary glucose to creatinine compared with the ratio upon administration of placebo (WMD = 36.21, 95%CI = 31.50–40.92, p < 0.001). Briefly, canagliflozin exerts the greatest therapeutic effect in terms of reducing the risk of renal impairment. Empagliflozin and canagliflozin may be more effective than other SGLT-2i in preventing renal impairment.