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Intranasal versus injectable glucagon for hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis

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Abstract

Aims

Glucagon is used to resolve severe hypoglycemia in unconscious patients with diabetes, requiring third-party assistance. A few studies have shown that intranasal (IN) glucagon causes resolution of hypoglycemia in insulin-treated patients with type 1 (T1DM) diabetes. This systematic review and meta-analysis updates the comparison of the effectiveness of IN glucagon with injected intramuscular/subcutaneous (IM/SC) glucagon in treatment of hypoglycemia in T1DM.

Methods

Controlled randomized studies were considered; eight studies, published in English, were included in a meta-analysis (random-effects model). Intervention effect (resolution of hypoglycemia) was expressed as odds ratio (OR), with 95% confidence intervals. Meta-regression was employed to correlate the effect with size of studies, age of patients, basal blood glucose levels.

Results

In a total of 467 treatments in 269 patients with IN and IM/SC glucagon, the OR IN versus IM/SC was 0.61 (CI 0.13–2.82); since four of eight studies showed 100% effectiveness, a simulation was made with 1 failure for each treatment; in this simulation analysis, the OR was 0.80 (95% CI 0.28–2.32). Heterogeneity was low and not statistically significant. Publication bias was absent, and quality of papers was high. At meta-regression, no correlation was found between the effect and number of patients in each study, age of patients, basal blood glucose levels. No study formally compared IN versus IM/SC in unconscious patients.

Conclusions

This meta-analysis indicates that in conscious T1DM patients IN glucagon and IM/SC glucagon are equally effective in resolution of hypoglycemia.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a Grant “Ricerca Corrente” to IRCCS Istituto MultiMedica from Ministero della Salute (Ministry of Health), Italy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Ospedale San Paolo, Via Antonio di Rudinì 8, 20142, Milan, Italy

    Antonio E. Pontiroli

  2. IRCCS MultiMedica, Milan, Italy

    Elena Tagliabue

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  1. Antonio E. Pontiroli
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  2. Elena Tagliabue
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Contributions

AEP and ET planned the research, searched the data, prepared the database, and contributed to analysis; ET performed the statistical analysis and contributed to discussion; and AEP and ET wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Antonio E. Pontiroli.

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This study represents a meta-analysis of studies published. Ethics approval and consent to participate do not apply to this study.

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Pontiroli, A.E., Tagliabue, E. Intranasal versus injectable glucagon for hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Diabetol 57, 743–749 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00592-020-01483-y

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