Meta-analysis of the benefit of sitagliptin treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes complicated with incipient nephropathy

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the evidence of the clinical efficacy and safety of sitagliptin in diabetic patients with incipient nephropathy. PubMed, Ovid, Cochrane library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases were searched in September 2017 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of sitagliptin in diabetic patients with incipient nephropathy. Study selection, data extraction and study quality assessment were performed independently by two investigators, while disagreements were resolved by a third reviewer. The treatment effect was estimated by calculating the mean difference (MD) or standard mean difference (SMD). Heterogeneity was assessed with the χ(2) and I(2) tests. Additionally, risk of bias graphs and summaries were used to assess the quality of the included trials. Thirteen RCTs were included in this review; their results suggested that sitagliptin has obvious advantages in lowering the 24-hour urinary albumin excretion [MD, −25.71; 95% confidence interval (CI), −30.75 to −20.66; P<0.00001], serum cystatin C (MD, −0.59; 95% CI, −0.64 to −0.54; P<0.00001), inflammation (MD, −0.81; 95% CI, −1.20 to −0.42; P<0.0001), and total cholesterol (MD, −0.13; 95% CI, −0.22 to −0.03; P=0.009). However, sitagliptin did not appear to influence serum creatinine, fasting blood glucose, postprandial blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin A1c, or triglyceride levels, although these results may have been influenced by biases in the included trials. The most common adverse effects of sitagliptin were gastrointestinal tract reaction and hypoglycemia, although these symptoms resolved quickly. Sitagliptin appears to be effective in reducing proteinuria, ameliorating renal function, and producing an anti-inflammatory effect in patients with early-stage diabetic nephropathy. The present analysis provides important guidance for the clinical application of sitagliptin.