Outcomes with insulin glargine in patients with type 2 diabetes previously on NPH insulin: evidence from clinical practice in Spain

AIM: We evaluated the effectiveness of insulin glargine (glargine)-based regimens in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in clinical practice in Spain. METHODS: This was a retrospective, registry-based study of 1482 patients treated with neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) who were either switched to glargine or maintained on NPH at investigators’ discretion. The primary outcomes were HbA(1c) change over a period of 4–9 months follow-up and incidence of hypoglycaemia. RESULTS: Prior to switching treatment, mean ± standard deviation HbA(1c) was worse in the glargine vs. the NPH group (8.3 ± 1.2% vs. 7.9 ± 1.1% respectively; p < 0.0001). After 4–9 months of treatment, mean reductions in HbA(1c) were greater with glargine vs. NPH (−1.0 ± 1.0% vs. −0.2 ± 0.8% respectively; p < 0.0001) and the incidence of hypoglycaemia in the month prior to the study visit was lower (21.8% vs. 47.6% respectively; p < 0.0001). An expected reduction in dosing frequency, as well as in the basal insulin dose was reported for glargine vs. NPH, with 97.3% of glargine-treated patients on once-daily injections and 81.2% on NPH receiving twice-daily therapy. Improvements in treatment satisfaction were significantly higher with glargine (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In a Spanish clinical practice setting, patients with T2DM who switched to glargine from NPH experienced significantly greater reductions in mean HbA(1c) and a lower incidence of hypoglycaemia than patients maintained on NPH.