A new study has backed a pioneering healthcare model for treating hospitalised patients with type 2 diabetes by combining insulin with specific oral medications. The treatment has significantly improved blood glucose control and reduced clinically relevant hypoglycaemia by 50 per cent.
The research was carried out by the Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases research group at the Health and Biomedical Research Institute of Alicante (ISABIAL), led by Doctor Óscar Moreno. The international journal ‘Cardiovascular Diabetology’ has published the findings.
The trial focused on the implementation of the Endocare guide, a protocol designed to help medical professionals determine when to maintain, start, or stop specific diabetes treatments during a patient’s stay in hospital.
Until now, standard medical guidelines recommended using only insulin for type 2 diabetes patients during hospitalisation due to a historic lack of evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of alternative medications in a hospital setting. However, Doctor Moreno noted that relying solely on insulin does not always achieve good blood sugar control and can trigger dangerous drops in glucose alongside worsening cardiovascular and renal conditions.
Nearly one thousand patients admitted across various medical and surgical departments at the Doctor Balmis General Hospital in Alicante were evaluated using the Endocare guide model. The study compared blood glucose control and the risk of severe complications between patients using traditional methods and those receiving alternative treatments.
These alternative treatments included SGLT2 inhibitors, which assist the body in removing excess sugar through urine, and GLP-1 receptor agonists, which mimic a natural hormone to regulate glucose.
In both instances, the research demonstrated superior blood sugar management as well as long-term metabolic and heart health benefits. Crucially, it showed a 50 per cent reduction in the risk of suffering clinically relevant hypos.
Doctor Moreno stated that the work addresses a major gap in medical knowledge and proves that it is viable to integrate non-insulin-based treatments into hospital environments, provided it is done under well-defined clinical criteria and with multidisciplinary teams.
