Clinical evaluation of the safety and efficacy of glimepiride treatment in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of glimepiride treatment in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes(T2DM). Methods A total of 26 elderly patients who had encountered incidents of hypoglycemia were treated with glimepiride.Fasting and postprandial 2 h blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin(HbAlc), hypoglycemia(blood glucose<3.9 mmol/L), liver and kidney function, blood lipids, routine blood and urine tests were analyzed. Results After switch to glimepiride, patients' fasting and postprandial 2h blood glucose, HbAlc and the safety indexes(weight, electrocardiogram, blood pressure, heart rate, liver and kidney function, blood lipids, routine blood and urine tests)had no obvious difference, compared with levels before treatment(P> 0.05). There was a marked difference in hypoglycemic events before and after treatment with glimepiride(39 vs.9 events, P<0.01). Conclusions Glimepiride is safe and effective in blood glucose control with low incidents of hypoglycemia and is a good choice for elderly patients with type 2 diabetes. Key words: Glimepiride; Diabetes mellitus, type 2