Real-world research papers presented at the American Diabetes Association annual meeting.
| CONTEXT: The Annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association held virtually this year attracted more than 11,500 participants. Just me or should the goal of the American Diabetes Association be to get smaller each year? Anyway, among the presentations this year were a comparative effectiveness study of 4 commonly used medications to treat type 2 diabetes to see which performed best in conjunction with metformin. The results showed insulin glargine and Liraglutide were more effective than glimepiride which was better than sitagliptin in keeping HbA1c levels in the range <7%. Also of note were two retrospective chart reviews. The first showed the depressingly predictable trend that hospital admissions for type 2 diabetes among children (age group younger than 19) increased in 2020 compared to 2019 largely due to stay at home orders, increased screen time and processed food along with disturbed sleep. The other chart review looked at unmanaged diabetes on COVID infection rates and recovery in high risk populations. The study analysed 369 patients admitted to the University Medical Centre, El Paso, Texas. They found that 40% of the people who died of COVID-19 also had co-morbid diabetes. In addition, 1 in 10 patients admitted for COVID infection who also had diabetes died within one week. READ TIME: 4 mins  1. “The authors performed a comparative effectiveness study of four commonly used medications (the sulfonylurea glimepiride, the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor sitagliptin, the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist liraglutide, and insulin glargine) to treat type 2 diabetes with the goal of determining which medications work best when added to metformin to maintain glucose levels in the accepted target range. ” 2. “American Diabetes Association, June 25-29. ” 3. “The conference highlighted the latest advances in diabetes research and improving patient care, with presentations focusing on treatment recommendations and advances in management technology. ” 4. “In addition, children admitted to the hospital in 2020 had higher acuity as indicated by higher blood sugar, higher hemoglobin A1c, and higher indicators of dehydration compared with children admitted in 2019. ” ” 5. “The retrospective study analyzed medical records from 369 patients admitted to the University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, with COVID-19 infection. ” Source URL: https://consumer.healthday.com/american-diabetes-association-june-25-29-2653709711.html |