Does Real World Use of Liraglutide Match its Use in the LEADER Cardiovascular Outcome Trial? Study Protocol

BACKGROUND: Liraglutide is an injectable therapy to treat type 2 diabetes (T2DM), belonging to the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist class of drugs. The Liraglutide Effect and Action in Diabetes: Evaluation of Cardiovascular Outcome Results (LEADER) trial established that liraglutide demonstrated glucose-lowering benefits and improved cardiovascular outcomes in those individuals with T2DM at high cardiovascular risk. AIMS: The aim of this study is to report the prevalence and characteristics of people treated with liraglutide compared with the LEADER trial. In addition, the remaining portion of the T2DM population will be examined to determine the prevalence of those who meet the inclusion criteria for the LEADER trial but who are not treated with this medication. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional analysis of routinely collected primary care data on all people with T2DM included in the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research and Surveillance Center (RSC) network database. People with T2DM will be identified from the dataset using a well-established ontological process. Read and other clinical codes will be used to identify people prescribed liraglutide and those at high cardiovascular risk. We will use descriptive statistics to report the characteristics of people with T2DM prescribed liraglutide compared with those of the LEADER trial and the proportion of the wider T2DM cohort that matches the LEADER inclusion criteria. In terms of ethical considerations, this study used pseudonymized data, and was classed as an “Audit of current practice”. PLANNED OUTPUTS: The results of the study will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal to report the applicability of the results of the LEADER trial to real-world clinical practice. FUNDING: Novo Nordisk Limited.