Real-Life Individual Comparison of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors in Patients with Heart Failure and Diabetes Mellitus

Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) are breakthrough agents for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and heart failure (HF). However, among patients with HF and T2DM, some uncertainty remains about individual comparisons, including dosing.

We aimed to make a real-life individual comparison of SGLT2is among patients with HF and T2DM.

This was a subgroup analysis of the Turkish Ministry of Health’s National Electronic Database for adult patients with HF (TRends-HF). All-cause mortality (ACM) data up to 7 years were evaluated. Patients with HF and T2DM who were prescribed an SGLT2i were identified, and individual doses of empagliflozin 25 mg, empagliflozin 10 mg, and dapagliflozin 10 mg were compared. For individual comparisons, propensity score-matching analysis was generated as 1:1:1, and disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for HF were considered.

In the triple-matched cohort, 1-, 5-, and 7-year survival rates were 95%, 81%, and 76% versus 94%, 78%, and 72% versus 94%, 80%, and 75% for empagliflozin 25 mg, empagliflozin 10 mg, and dapagliflozin 10 mg, respectively. Among patients who were on triple DMT for HF, 1-, 5-, and 7-year survival rates were 95%, 78%, and 70% for empagliflozin 25 mg, 95%, 74%, and 66% for empagliflozin 10 mg, and 94%, 77%, and 69% for dapagliflozin, respectively. Annual emergency department visits were slightly lower with empagliflozin 10 mg and dapagliflozin 10 mg than with empagliflozin 25 mg. A greater proportion of patients on dapagliflozin 10 mg did not experience hospitalization during the 7-year follow-up compared with both doses of empagliflozin, albeit with a small effect size.

Among patients with HF and T2DM, SGLT2is are instrumental, and empagliflozin 10 mg remains significantly inferior to dapagliflozin 10 mg and empagliflozin 25 mg in terms of 5- and 7-year ACM.