Comparison of Efficacy and Safety of Sitagliptin and Glimepiride in Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of sitagliptin and glimepiride in treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Design: It was an observational open comparative study. Study Settings: This study was conducted at Department of Pharmacology over 1 year from March 2017 to March 2018 at DHQ Teaching Hospital, Kohat. Material and Methods: Sixty (60) patients were enrolled in the study meeting the inclusion criteria. Tablet glimipiride 1 mg and sitagliptin 100 mg was used as the treatment option. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: group Glimepiride (30 patients; administered glimepiride 2 mg daily) and group Sitagliptin (30 patients; administered sitagliptin 100 mg daily). If glycemic control was not reached then patient was excluded from the study and given further treatment for benefit of the patient. The samples of blood were taken at 12 weeks visit to test HbA1c level, fating blood sugar (FBG) and post prandial glucose (PPG) level. At the time of follow up patient were evaluated for efficacy, safety and tolerability. All collected data was entered then analysed in SPSS version 19.0. Results: A total of 60 patients were enrolled into the study, with 30 in each group. Mean age in sitagliptin group (A) was 45 years, while that of glimeperide group (B) was 47 years. There were 16 males and 14 females in group A, 18 males and 12 females in group B. We found a significant reduction of HbA1C and BMI in group S taking sitagliptin as compared to glimeperide group. (p<0.05) Reduction in FBS was comparable in both the groups. (p>0.05). Side effects in both the groups mostly included hypoglycemia, and vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain. These side effects were mild and did not need stoppage of medication or resulted in drop outs. Conclusion: Sitagliptin as an adjunct to present monotherapy with metformin showed significant drop out in HbA1c, PPG and FBG values after treatment of 12 weeks and was non inferior to glimepiride. However, no sitagliptin taking patients observed any episodes of hypoglycemia. Also weight loss was observed in sitagliptin group as compared to glimepiride group..