Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Efficacy of some combination regimens of oral hypoglycaemic agents in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Endang Kumolosasi , Gan Boon Yan, Chua Eng Wee

Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;

For correspondence:- Endang Kumolosasi Email: e_kumolosasi@yahoo.co.id Tel:(603)–92898054

Received: 24 November 2014 Accepted: 29 May 2015 Published: 29 July 2015

Citation: Kumolosasi E, Yan GB, Wee CE. Efficacy of some combination regimens of oral hypoglycaemic agents in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Trop J Pharm Res 2015; 14(7):1279-1284 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v14i7.22

© 2015 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose:To examine the efficacy of selected oral hypoglycaemic agent (OHA) regimens in a small group of patients receiving such treatment.

Methods:This was a retrospective, observational study that involved patients who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus and undergoing routine follow-up at a teaching hospital. By reviewing patients’ medical records, changes in fasting blood glucose (FPG) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels induced by several OHA cobmination regimens were documented. Target FPG and HbA1c were defined as 4.4 - 6.1 mmol/L and 6.5 %, respectively.

Results:Based on the medical records of 156 patients reviewed, the combination of metformin and gliclazide was the most commonly prescribed regimen (63.46 %). The use of gliclazide + rosiglitazone + acarbose produced the greatest reduction in FPG and HbA1c (-4.80 mmol/L and - 4.20 %, respectively), but the number of patients receiving this combination was too small to allow definitive conclusions to be made. More patients in the triple OHA group were able to achieve the desired glycaemic control than those in the dual OHA group (FPG, 44.44 % versus 41.18 %; HbA1c, 52.94 % versus 47.06 %), highlighting the important benefits conferred by the use of multiple OHAs.

Conclusion:The efficacy of various OHA combinations varies, and adding a third drug to a dual-agent regimen further reduces FPG and HbA1c levels. Though gliclazide + rosiglitazone + acarbose produces the greatest reduction in FPG and HbA1c levels, larger studies are required to confirm these findings.

Keywords: Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Oral hypoglycaemic agents, Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), Combination therapy, Gliclazide, Rosi