Estimating the risk of severe hypoglycemic event related to glucose-lowering treatment among Italian patients with diabetes: the HYPOTHESIS database

Medication-Related Hospital Admissions and Emergency Department Visits in Older People with Diabetes: A Systematic Review

Limited data are available regarding adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and medication-related hospitalisations or emergency department (ED) visits in older adults with diabetes, especially since the emergence of newer antidiabetic agents. This systematic review aimed to explore the nature of hospital admissions and ED visits that are medication-related in older adults with diabetes. The review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. Studies in English that reported on older adults (mean age ≥ 60 years) with diabetes admitted to the hospital or presenting to ED due to medication-related problems and published between January 2000 and October 2023 were identified using Medline, Embase, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts databases. Thirty-five studies were included. Medication-related hospital admissions and ED visits were all reported as episodes of hypoglycaemia and were most frequently associated with insulins and sulfonylureas. The studies indicated a decline in hypoglycaemia-related hospitalisations or ED presentations in older adults with diabetes since 2015. However, the associated medications remain the same. This finding suggests that older patients on insulin or secretagogue agents should be closely monitored to prevent potential adverse events, and newer agents should be used whenever clinically appropriate.

Comparative Study of The Effects of Confounding Factors on Improving Rat Pancreatic Islet Isolation Yield and Quality

OBJECTIVE

Isolated pancreatic islets are valuable resources for a wide range of research, including cell replacement studies and cell-based platforms for diabetes drug discovery and disease modeling. Islet isolation is a complex and stepwise procedure aiming to obtain pure, viable, and functional islets for in vitro and in vivo studies. It should be noted that differences in rodent strains, gender, weight, and density gradients may affect the isolated islet's properties. We evaluated the variables affecting the rat islet isolation procedure to reach the maximum islet yield and functionality, which would be critical for further studies on islet regenerative biology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present experimental study compared the yield and purity of isolated islets from nondiabetic rats of two different strains. Next, islet particle number (IPN) and islet equivalent (IEQ) were compared between males and females, and the weight range that yields the highest number of islets was investigated. Moreover, the influence of three different density gradients, namely Histopaque, Pancoll, and Lymphodex, on final isolated islets purity and yield were assessed. Finally, the viability and functionality of isolated islets were measured.

RESULTS

The IEQ, IPN, and purity of isolated islets in 15 Lister hooded rats (LHRs) were significantly (P≤0.05) higher than those of the other strains. Male LHRs resulted in significantly higher IEQ compared to females (P≤0.05). Moreover, IPN and IEQ did not significantly vary among different weight groups. Also, the utilization of Histopaque and Pancoll leads to higher yield and purity. In vivo assessments of the isolated islets presented significantly reduced blood glucose percentage in the transplanted group on days 2-5 following transplantation.

CONCLUSION

Based on these results, an optimal protocol for isolating high-quality rat islets with a constant yield, purity, and function has been established as an essential platform for developing diabetes research.

Hypoglycemic episodes in hospitalized people with diabetes in Portugal: the HIPOS-WARD study

BACKGROUND

We intended to estimate the proportion hypoglycemic/hyperglycemic emergency episodes in treated diabetes mellitus (DM) patients admitted to a hospital ward, and calculate the prevalence of risk factors for hypoglycemia and diabetic complications.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional, multicentered study, the observational data was collected by physicians from patient's hospitalization to discharge/death. Statistical tests were 2-tailed considering 5% significance level.

RESULTS

There were 646 ward admissions due to hyperglycemic emergencies and 176 hypoglycemic episodes with a ratio hypoglycemia/hyperglycemia 0.27 for all DM patients. In T2DM patients the ratio was 0.38. These were mainly female (55.1%), functionally dependent (61.4%) and retired/disabled (73.1%). Median age was 75 years and median duration of disease 11 years. Half the patients were on insulin-based therapy and 30.1% on secretagogue-based therapy. Approximately 57% of patients needed occasional/full assistance to manage the disease. The most frequent risk factor for hypoglycemia was polypharmacy (85.0%). Hypoglycemia in the 12 months before admission was higher in insulin-based therapy patients (66.1%; p = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Hyperglycemic emergencies are the most frequent cause of hospitalization in Portugal, although severe hypoglycemic events represent a health and social problem in elderly/frail patients. There is still the need to optimize therapy in terms of the potential for hypoglycemia in this patient group and a review of anti-hyperglycemic agents to add on to insulin.

Potentially preventable urinary tract infection in patients with type 2 diabetes - A hospital-based study

Aim

To investigate the prevalence of urinary tract infections in hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and identify corresponding risk factors.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study on 7.347 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus as the principal diagnosis, using hospitalization discharge summary data from January 1 to December 31, 2015. Disease stages were classified as stages 1, 2, and 3.

Results

Of 7.347 patients, 16.2% had urinary tract infections. The urinary tract infection prevalence was 24.4% in 428 patients in stage 1 and 4.8% in 2.840 patients in stage 2; it was higher among patients who underwent medical procedures than among those who underwent surgery (24.4% vs 4.8%). In multivariate regression analysis, age (OR = 1.031; 95% CI = 1.02-1.04), length of hospitalization (OR = 1.018; 95% CI = 1.013-1.024), sex (woman) (OR = 2.248; 95% CI = 1.778-2.842), comorbidity of stage 3 cerebrovascular disease (OR = 1.737; 95% CI = 1.111-2.714), and comorbidity of stage 1 colorectal cancer (OR = 2.417; 95% CI = 1.152-5.074) were found to be the risk factors of urinary tract infection in the ten hospitals considered.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that urinary tract infection prevalence was higher in women without evidence of organ injury and those receiving medical treatment. Comorbidities (cerebrovascular disease and colorectal cancer) were identified as risk factors.