Tavares, Caio A. M., Azevedo, Luciano C. P., Rea-Neto, Álvaro, Campos, Niklas S., Amendola, Cristina P., Kozesinski-Nakatani, Amanda C., David-João, Paula G., Lobo, Suzana M., Filiponi, Thiago C., Almeida, Guacyra M. B., Bergo, Ricardo R., Guimarães-Júnior, Mário R. R., Figueiredo, Rodrigo C., Castro, Joan R., Schuler, Clewer J., Westphal, Glauco A., Carioca, Ana C. R., Monfradini, Frederico, Nieri, Josue, and Neves, Flavia M. O.
Importance: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors improve outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease, but their effect on outcomes of critically ill patients with organ failure is unknown. Objective: To determine whether the addition of dapagliflozin, an SGLT-2 inhibitor, to standard intensive care unit (ICU) care improves outcomes in a critically ill population with acute organ dysfunction. Design, Setting, and Participants: Multicenter, randomized, open-label, clinical trial conducted at 22 ICUs in Brazil. Participants with unplanned ICU admission and presenting with at least 1 organ dysfunction (respiratory, cardiovascular, or kidney) were enrolled between November 22, 2022, and August 30, 2023, with follow-up through September 27, 2023. Intervention: Participants were randomized to 10 mg of dapagliflozin (intervention, n = 248) plus standard care or to standard care alone (control, n = 259) for up to 14 days or until ICU discharge, whichever occurred first. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was a hierarchical composite of hospital mortality, initiation of kidney replacement therapy, and ICU length of stay through 28 days, analyzed using the win ratio method. Secondary outcomes included the individual components of the hierarchical outcome, duration of organ support–free days, ICU, and hospital stay, assessed using bayesian regression models. Results: Among 507 randomized participants (mean age, 63.9 [SD, 15] years; 46.9%, women), 39.6% had an ICU admission due to suspected infection. The median time from ICU admission to randomization was 1 day (IQR, 0-1). The win ratio for dapagliflozin for the primary outcome was 1.01 (95% CI, 0.90 to 1.13; P =.89). Among all secondary outcomes, the highest probability of benefit found was 0.90 for dapagliflozin regarding use of kidney replacement therapy among 27 patients (10.9%) in the dapagliflozin group vs 39 (15.1%) in the control group. Conclusion and Relevance: The addition of dapagliflozin to standard care for critically ill patients and acute organ dysfunction did not improve clinical outcomes; however, confidence intervals were wide and could not exclude relevant benefits or harms for dapagliflozin. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05558098 Key Points: Question: Does the addition of dapagliflozin to standard of care improve the hierarchical outcome of hospital mortality, initiation of kidney replacement therapy, and the length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) among critically ill patients with acute organ dysfunction? Findings: In this multicenter, open-label, randomized clinical trial that included 507 participants with at least 1 acute organ dysfunction (hypotension, kidney injury, or respiratory), the use of 10 mg of dapagliflozin for up to 14 days did not significantly reduce the combined outcome of hospital mortality, initiation of kidney replacement therapy, and ICU length of stay, assessed by the win ratio method (win ratio, 1.01, not significant) through 28 days after randomization. Meaning: The addition of dapagliflozin to standard care for individuals with critical illness and acute organ dysfunction did not improve clinical outcomes. This randomized clinical trial assessed whether adding dapagliflozin to standard care for patients with acute organ dysfunction could reduce the composite outcome of hospital mortality, initiation of kidney replacement therapy, and length of stay compared with standard care alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]