The Clinical Impact of Switching Basal Insulin to Insulin Degludec in Patients With Diabetes in Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design Study

Background: Diabetes is a health problem that has an enormous and intolerable public health burden on the individual, family, and community. Diabetes affects nearly one-fifth of adults in Saudi Arabia and is expected to double by 2030. Aim of the study: The study aims to evaluate the impact of switching patients from conventional basal insulin analogues to insulin degludec during a 90-day follow-up period. Methods: This was a retrospective observational pretest-posttest cohort study conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital between June 2019 and August 2020. Adult patients with diabetes who switched their basal insulin to insulin degludec were included and evaluated for its impact on insulin doses, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), hypoglycemic events, and/or body weight changes during a 90-day follow-up period. Results: Out of 718 patients, 107 patients were included in the study, with 60.7% being females and their mean (± SD) age was 62.2 ± 14.6 years. There was a significant decrease in the mean baseline of HbA1c from 9.2% to 8.7% after 90 days of follow-up (P<0.001). A statistically significant reduction was noted in the total insulin requirements from a baseline of 71.70 (± 42.4) units to 46.5 (± 29) units, P=0.001, after switching to insulin degludec. However, there were no statistically significant differences in the body weight from the baseline mean (± SD) of 80.5 kg (± 19.4) to 79.9 kg (± 19.9), P=0.68, after switching to insulin degludec. Lastly, there were no statistically significant differences in the reported hypoglycemic episodes from a baseline of 48.7% vs 37.3% after 90 days of follow-up (P = 0.166). Conclusion: Switching to the novel insulin degludec conferred better blood glucose control and dose reduction. There was no increase in the frequency of hypoglycemic episodes or body weight.