Comparable glycaemic control and hypoglycaemia in adults with type 2 diabetes after initiating insulin glargine 300 units/mL or insulin degludec: The DELIVER Naïve D real‐world study

AIM: To compare glycaemic control, hypoglycaemia and treatment discontinuation of insulin glargine 300 units/mL (Gla‐300) and insulin degludec (IDeg) in a real‐world study of insulin‐naïve adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). MATERIALS AND METHODS: DELIVER Naive D was a retrospective observational study that used electronic medical record data from the IBM Watson Health Explorys database. Insulin‐naïve adults with T2D who started Gla‐300 or IDeg between March 2015 and September 2017 were identified. Patients were active in the system for ≥12 months before and ≥6 months after starting Gla‐300 or IDeg and had HbA1c measurements during 6‐month baseline and 3‐ to 6‐month follow‐up. Outcomes were compared among 1:1 propensity score‐matched cohorts. RESULTS: In the matched cohorts (n = 638 each), the mean age was 59 years, approximately 53% were male, and mean HbA1c was 9.67% (82 mmol/mol). Mean (SD) HbA1c decreases were comparable in the Gla‐300 and IDeg cohorts (−1.67% [2.22] and −1.58% [2.20]; P = 0.51), as were HbA1c target attainment [<7% (53 mmol/mol): 23.8% and 27.4%; P = 0.20; <8% (64 mmol/mol): 55.0% and 57.1%; P = 0.63] and treatment discontinuation (29.2% and 32.6%; P = 0.14). Overall and inpatient/emergency department‐associated hypoglycaemia incidences and event rates were similar in both cohorts using fixed 6‐month or variable on‐treatment follow‐up. CONCLUSIONS: Among real‐world insulin‐naïve adults with T2D, initiation of Gla‐300 or IDeg resulted in comparable improvements in glycaemic control and similar rates of hypoglycaemia. These real‐world data complement and confirm a randomized trial and other real‐world studies.