Safety concerns for Sulphonylureas- may increase all cause mortality

A recent study found that sulphonylureas have a safety concern when compared to alternate drugs but there may be differences within the drug class. They also found that out of all drugs, glimepiride has the best safety. The study was published in the journal BMC Endocrinology Disorders. 

There is still discord on the safety of sulfonylurea drugs in the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. Hence researchers conducted a Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to compare the all-cause mortality and cardiovascular adverse events of sulfonylureas and drugs with a low risk for hypoglycemia in adults with type 2 diabetes using keywords from databases like MEDLINE (PubMed, OVID), Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, WOS, and Lilacs. 

The study included randomized controlled head-to-head trials published up to August 2015. They included trials that compared sulfonylureas with active control in adults who are ≥ 18 years old with low hypoglycaemic potential and with type 2 diabetes. Metformin, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists were the drug classes taken in the analysis. All-cause mortality was the primary endpoint. MACE, cardiovascular events, and severe hypoglycemia were the secondary endpoints.