Efficacy of canagliflozin combined with antidiabetic drugs in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus: Meta-analysis of randomized control trials

Abstract

Aims/Introduction: Canagliflozin has been proposed as an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes. This meta-analysis of randomized control trials aimed to evaluate the effect of canagliflozin combined with other hypoglycemic drugs. Materials and Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and ClinicalTrials.gov for randomized control trials comparing canagliflozin combined with conventional antidiabetic drugs vs placebo. Our main end-points were glycemic control and change in weight. We assessed pooled data by use of a random-effects model. Result: Of 161 identified studies, six were eligible and were included in our analysis (n = 4670 participants). Compared with the placebo, mean changes in glycosylated hemoglobin were -0.60% (95% confidence interval -0.67 to -0.54%; I2 = 0%) for canagliflozin 100 mg, and -0.76% (95% confidence interval -0.84 to -0.68%; I2 = 20%) for canagliflozin 300 mg with bodyweight loss. Conclusion: Canagliflozin as an add-on drug to other antidiabetic drugs effectively lowers blood glucose without significant weight gain.