A randomized controlled trial of liraglutide versus insulin detemir plus sitagliptin: Effective switch from intensive insulin therapy to the once-daily injection in patients with well-controlled type 2 diabetes.

This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of liraglutide versus insulin detemir plus sitagliptin in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes treated with a basal-bolus insulin regimen. In this multicenter, open-label trial, 90 patients whose diabetes had been controlled well or moderately (glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c ] ≤ 7.3%) with basal-bolus insulin regimen were randomly assigned to a liraglutide group or a detemir group and were followed up for 24 weeks. The primary end point was HbA1c change from baseline to 24 weeks. Of the 90 enrolled patients, 82 completed this trial. At 24 weeks, the mean changes in HbA1c from baseline were 0.1% ± 0.9% versus 0.3% ± 0.8% in the liraglutide versus detemir groups, respectively (P = .46). The "overall" satisfaction score for the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire changed from 25.2 ± 7.4 to 29.9 ± 5.3 (P < .001) and from 26.4 ± 6.1 to 28.3 ± 6.4 (P = .12) in the liraglutide and detemir groups, respectively. Although the mean change difference in HbA1c between both groups was not significant, switching from a basal-bolus insulin regimen to liraglutide once daily improved patient satisfaction levels without loss of glycemic control.