Introduction and Aims
Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are well established as agents which reduce heart failure (HF) hospitalisation and cardiovascular (CV) death. We sought to determine the uptake of SGLT2 inhibitors in patients with HF based on their eligibility using three different criteria: 1) Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), 2) Canagliflozin and Renal Endpoints in Diabetes with Established Nephropathy Clinical Evaluation (CREDENCE) trial and 3) Dapagliflozin And Prevention of Adverse outcomes in Heart Failure (DAPA-HF) trial.
Method
A retrospective audit was conducted on all patients who attended the heart failure clinic at the Nepean Hospital from June 2018 to December 2019. Electronic medical records were used to collect demographic, clinical and imaging data, which, informed on the eligibility for SGLT2 inhibitor prescription.
Results
237 patients were included in the audit, of which 101 patients (42.6%) had Type II Diabetes Mellitus. Only 16 patients (6.8%) were on SGLT2 inhibitors. However, based on the PBS criteria, 35 patients (14.8%) were eligible for SGLT2 inhibitors. The CREDENCE and DAPA-HF criteria identified 46 (19.4%) and 133 (56.1%) patients who were eligible, respectively.
Conclusion
This audit highlights significant underutilisation of SGLT2 inhibitors in HF patients, despite evidence of SGLT2 inhibitors improving CV outcomes.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 08, 2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Published by Elsevier Inc.
