Risk factors for DKA in patients taking SGLT2 inhibitors

The use of SGLT2 inhibitors has been associated with DKA in patients with type 2 diabetes. This review examined risk factors for its development. From the paper:

Patients

Thirty-four case reports of patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus who developed DKA while receiving an SGLT2i.

Methods and Main Results

This systematic review investigated the relationship between SGLT2i and DKA in patients with diabetes. The existing literature was reviewed with a primary outcome to identify patient-specific factors contributing to the incidence of ketoacidosis in patients with diabetes who were treated with a SGLT2i. Numerous databases were searched to identify appropriate primary literature. Search terms included canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, SGLT2, sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor, diabetic ketoacidosis, ketoacidosis, metabolic acidosis, and acidosis. Primary literature was analyzed via descriptive statistics. Thirty-four individual case reports were identified via the primary literature search. Two-thirds (25 cases) involved patients with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The average blood glucose on presentation for SGLT2i-induced DKA was 265.6 ± 140.7 mg/dl (14.7 ± 7.8 mmol/L), with common symptoms including nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Common precipitating factors included patients who were diagnosed with T2DM and were subsequently found to have latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood, patients who had recently undergone major surgery, or patients who had decreased or discontinued insulin. No cases were fatal.

Conclusion

In this review, episodes of DKA with SGLT2i use were characterized by lower blood glucose levels and were often caused by a precipitating factor. Understanding precipitating factors for SGLT2i-related DKA may help providers better identify patients at risk for development of DKA.