Degludec hospital trial: A randomized controlled trial comparing insulin degludec <scp>U100</scp> and glargine <scp>U100</scp> for the inpatient management of patients with type 2 diabetes

AIMS: Limited data exists about the use of insulin degludec in the hospital. This multicentre, non-inferiority, open-label, prospective randomised trial compared the safety and efficacy of insulin degludec-U100 and glargine-U100 for the management of hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: A total of 180 general medicine and surgery patients with an admission blood glucose (BG) between 7&#183;8 – 22&#183;2 mmol/L, treated with oral agents or insulin prior to hospitalization were randomly allocated (1:1) to a basal bolus regimen using degludec (n=92) or glargine (n=88), as basal and aspart before meals. Insulin dose was adjusted daily to a target BG between 3&#183;9 – 10&#183;0 mmol/L. The primary end point was difference in the mean hospital daily BG between groups. RESULTS: Overall, the randomization BG was 12&#183;2 &#177; 2&#183;9 mmol/L and HbA1c 84 mmol/mol (9&#183;8&#177;2&#183;0%). There were no differences in mean daily BG (10&#183;0&#177;2&#183;1 vs. 10&#183;0&#177;2&#183;5 mmol/L, p=0&#183;9), proportion of BG in target range (54&#183;5&#177; 29% vs. 55&#183;3 &#177; 28%, p=0&#183;85), basal insulin (29&#183;6 &#177; 13 vs 30&#183;4 &#177; 18 units/day, p=0&#183;85), length of stay (median (IQR): 6&#183;7 (4&#183;7–10&#183;5) vs. 7&#183;5 (4&#183;7–11&#183;6) days, p=0&#183;61), hospital complications (23% vs. 23%, p=0&#183;95) between treatment groups. There were no differences in the proportion of patients with BG