medwireNews: An interim analysis of EMPRISE shows reductions in heart failure (HF) risk with empagliflozin in real-world users that match those reported in the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial.
During an average follow-up of 5.3 months, new users of empagliflozin were hospitalized with HF as the primary diagnosis at a rate of 2.1 per 1000 person–years, whereas the rate among new users of sitagliptin was 6.7 per 1000 person–years, equating to a significant 50% risk reduction favoring empagliflozin.
As they report in Circulation, Elisabetta Patorno (Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA) and colleagues used two commercial insurance databases and a Medicare data source to match 16,443 first-time empagliflozin users to an equal number of sitagliptin initiators. The groups were matched on propensity scores composed of baseline variables that predicted the initiation of empagliflozin versus sitagliptin.
The patients were aged an average of 59 years, and about a quarter had pre-existing CVD, with 5% having HF. These risk reductions with empagliflozin were similar in magnitude regardless of whether patients had a history of CVD or HF, and irrespective of sex or empagliflozin dose (10 or 25 mg/day).
“The subgroup of patients without cardiovascular disease at baseline is of specific interest although the number of events is still small,” say the researchers.
They add: “Future analyses will include increasing numbers of patients to study additional outcomes and more patient subgroups.”
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