Therapeuticresearch.com

Prescriber’s Letter Clarifies Avandia Heart Attack Warning
with Stepwise Diabetes Treatment Algorithm for Prescribers
May 25, 2007 – STOCKTON, CA – Prescribers and diabetes patients alike are wondering what to make of recent media reports of a New England Journal of Medicine study suggesting Avandia (rosiglitazone) increases heart attack risk by 43% in diabetes patients. Avandia, an oral agent for type 2 diabetes, accounted for more than 3 billion dollars in worldwide sales last year. Critics are jumping to liken these N Engl J Med study results to the early cardiovascular concerns seen with Vioxx that ultimately led to its removal from the market.
But analysts at Prescriber’s Letter say that crunching the study’s numbers reveals only part of the story. Since this report is a meta-analysis, it is merely a study of prior study results. In order to draw conclusions that can be applied by health professionals and patients, one has to consider this study along with earlier data and knowledge of a particular patient.
Prescriber’s Letter helps prescribers and patients put this new study into perspective. Experts are concluding that, as with many other diabetes medications, other diabetes medications, Avandia’s only definite benefit is lowering blood glucose to help control diabetes. This new study reinforces that Avandia does not provide any long-term cardiovascular benefit in diabetes patients. In fact, it’s well known that both available drugs in the “glitazone” class, Avandia and Actos (pioglitazone), cause fluid retention and should be avoided in patients with moderate to severe heart failure. Prescriber's Letter also addresses another question raised by this study. People want to know if the heart attack risk is a “class-effect” that will be observed with Actos. This study does not answer this question since it did not look at Actos. Another highly debated study suggests that Actos (pioglitazone) may actually reduce heart attacks and strokes. But the jury is still very much out on whether all the drugs in this glitazone class lead to cardiovascular problems. Even more important for prescribers and patients, though, is how to make treatment decisions based on the results of the new Avandia study. Prescriber's Letter experts say to follow the recommendations in its Stepwise Order of Treatments For Type 2 Diabetes. After diet and exercise, most patients should be started on metformin. If a glitazone drug is to be started, preference should be given to Actos over Avandia. But if a patient is already stable and doing well on Avandia the patient should not be switched to Actos at this time, based only on the results of this study.
Prescriber’s Letter, an evidence-based subscription resource for prescribers, provides the facts about the quality and results of studies like this one, without any spin or sensationalism. A concise analysis of this study is available at the article, the editors tell prescribers what they need to know to translate this study into practice. The editors also attach their Detail-Document that explores the facts that shaped the Letter’s recommendations. This added resource also provides the Stepwise Order of Treatment guidelines and a handout to help doctors counsel patients on the risks of Avandia and Actos. Thousands of articles and Detail-Documents .
The editorial team at Prescriber’s Letter has been publishing drug information recommendations since 1985 and carefully researches the most important topics and compiles the evidence into monthly Letters consisting of concise articles each linked to an in-depth Detail-Document. In order to remain completely unbiased, Prescriber’s Letter does not accept any advertising and has no ties with any drug manufacturing company.
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Source: http://www.therapeuticresearch.com/press/PR_Avandia_5-29-07.pdf