Into the abyss: diabetes process of care indicators and outcomes of defaulters from a Canadian tertiary care multidisciplinary diabetes clinic

Abstract Background Continuity of care is essential for good quality diabetes management. We recently found that 46% of patients defaulted from care (had no contact with the clinic for 18 months after a follow-up appointment was ordered) in a Canadian multidisciplinary tertiary care diabetes clinic. The primary aim was to compare characteristics, diabetes processes of care, and outcomes from referral to within 1 year after leaving clinic or to the end of the follow-up period among those patients who defaulted, were discharged or were retained in the clinic. Methods Retrospective cohort study of 193 patients referred to the Foustanellas Endocrine and Diabetes Center (FEDC) for type 2 diabetes from January 1, 2005 to June 30, 2005. The FEDC is the primary academic referral centre for the Ottawa Region and provides multidisciplinary diabetes management. Defaulters (mean age 58.5 ± 12.5 year, 60% M) were compared to patients who were retained in the clinic (mean age 61.4 ± 10.47 years, 49% M) and those who were formally discharged (mean age 61.5 ± 13.2 years, 53.3% M). The chart audit population was then individually linked on an individual patient basis for laboratory testing, physician visits billed through OHIP, hospitalizations and emergency room visits using Ontario health card numbers to health administrative data from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care at the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences (ICES). Results Retained and defaulted patients had significantly longer duration of diabetes, more microvascular complications, were more likely to be on insulin and less likely to have a HbA1c < 7.0% than patients discharged from clinic. A significantly lower proportion of patients who defaulted from tertiary care received recommended monitoring for their diabetes (HbA1c measurements, lipid measurements, and periodic eye examinations), despite no difference in median number of visits to a primary care provider (PCP). Emergency room visits were numerically higher in the defaulters group. Conclusions Patients defaulting from a tertiary care diabetes hospital do not receive the recommended monitoring for their diabetes management despite attending PCP appointments. Efforts should be made to minimize defaulting in this group of individuals

Empagliflozin in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background The effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease who are at risk for disease progression are not well understood. The EMPA-KIDNEY trial was designed to assess the effects of treatment with empagliflozin in a broad range of such patients. Methods We enrolled patients with chronic kidney disease who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 20 but less than 45 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) of body-surface area, or who had an eGFR of at least 45 but less than 90 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (with albumin measured in milligrams and creatinine measured in grams) of at least 200. Patients were randomly assigned to receive empagliflozin (10 mg once daily) or matching placebo. The primary outcome was a composite of progression of kidney disease (defined as end-stage kidney disease, a sustained decrease in eGFR to &lt; 10 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2), a sustained decrease in eGFR of &amp; GE;40% from baseline, or death from renal causes) or death from cardiovascular causes. Results A total of 6609 patients underwent randomization. During a median of 2.0 years of follow-up, progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes occurred in 432 of 3304 patients (13.1%) in the empagliflozin group and in 558 of 3305 patients (16.9%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.82; P &lt; 0.001). Results were consistent among patients with or without diabetes and across subgroups defined according to eGFR ranges. The rate of hospitalization from any cause was lower in the empagliflozin group than in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.95; P=0.003), but there were no significant between-group differences with respect to the composite outcome of hospitalization for heart failure or death from cardiovascular causes (which occurred in 4.0% in the empagliflozin group and 4.6% in the placebo group) or death from any cause (in 4.5% and 5.1%, respectively). The rates of serious adverse events were similar in the two groups. Conclusions Among a wide range of patients with chronic kidney disease who were at risk for disease progression, empagliflozin therapy led to a lower risk of progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes than placebo