Empagliflozin versus dapagliflozin in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin, glimepiride and dipeptidyl peptide 4 inhibitors: A 52-week prospective observational study

Aims To directly compare the effectiveness and safety between two distinct sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, empagliflozin and dapagliflozin, as part of a quadruple oral antidiabetic agents (OADs) in patients with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods This study was an open-labeled, prospective, 52-week study conducted in T2D patients with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ranging 7.5–12.0% with metformin, glimepiride and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors. Patients were divided into either empagliflozin (25 mg/day) or dapagliflozin (10 mg/day). The outcome measures included changes in HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and cardiometabolic variables and the safety profiles. Results In total, 350 patients were enrolled with empagliflozin (n = 176) and dapagliflozin (n = 174), respectively. After 52 weeks, both groups showed significant reductions in HbA1c and FPG, but the reduction was greater in the empagliflozin group (P Conclusions Our study demonstrated that SGLT2 inhibitors can be effectively used as a fourth OAD in T2D patients who are treated with three other OADs. More specifically, empagliflozin was more effective in reducing HbA1c and improving other cardiometabolic parameters than dapagliflozin. Clinical Trial Number NCT03748810 ( ClinicalTrials.gov ).