Comparison of trajectories of self-monitored glucose levels by hypoglycemia status over 52 weeks of treatment with insulin glargine or exenatide once weekly.

Background Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is used as a means to detect and prevent hypoglycemia in patients with diabetes. However, information on the longitudinal measures (trajectory) of SMBG-based pre- and postprandial glucose fluctuations over time in relation to hypoglycemia is limited. Among patients treated with exenatide once weekly (EQW) or insulin glargine (IG), this study compared SMBG profiles over 52 weeks between patients who did and did not experience hypoglycemia. Methods Pooled patient-level 52-week longitudinal data of treatment with EQW (n = 531) or IG (n = 219) from three controlled trials were analyzed. Results The proportion of patients with at least one episode of hypoglycemia in the EQW and IG groups was 23% and 54%, respectively. The preprandial glucose measures from SMBG were significantly lower among patients who experienced hypoglycemia in both treatment groups compared with those who did not. In patients who experienced hypoglycemia, the average preprandial glucose levels over 52 weeks were lower by 0.64 and 0.66 mmol/L in the EQW and IG groups, respectively (P < 0.01 in both cases) compared with those without hypoglycemia. The average postprandial levels were not significantly different between patients who did and did not experience hypoglycemia in both treatment groups. Among patients with hypoglycemia, the average prebreakfast glucose trajectory was higher by 0.48 mmol/L in the EQW compared with the IG group. Conclusions This study has revealed differential trajectories of pre- and postprandial glucose profiles between patients with and without hypoglycemia. However, the SMBG trajectories were similar between patients treated with EQW and IG.