Impact of SGLT2 Inhibitors on Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus Following Heart Transplantation: A Meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: In this new era, heart transplantation (HT) is rapidly gaining popularity worldwide. Patients with end-stage heart disease are often candidates for HT. However, studies have shown that more than 30% of patients who undergo HT have pre-existing diabetes mellitus (DM), which is associated with a higher risk of graft failure and death. In this analysis, we aimed to assess the impact of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors on clinical outcomes in patients with DM following HT. METHODS: Online databases were searched for relevant publications. The statistical analysis was performed using the RevMan software version 5.4. The clinical outcomes included rejection post-HT, mortality, sepsis, weight reduction, change in body mass index (BMI), change in serum creatinine level, glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and improvement in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). For dichotomous data, risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to summarize the analysis. However, for continuous data, weight mean difference (WMD) with 95% CI was used. RESULTS: Eight studies with a total number of 2755 participants were included in this analysis. Our current results showed that rejection risk post HT was significantly lower in the SGLT2 inhibitor group (RR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.78-0.93; P = 0.0001). The mortality risk was not significantly different (RR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.32-1.29; P = 0.21). Similarly, sepsis following HT was similar in both groups (RR: 1.62, 95% CI: 0.13-20.11; P = 0.71). No significant differences were observed in weight reduction, BMI, change in serum creatinine level, change in eGFR, or improvement in HbA1c following HT. CONCLUSIONS: In participants with DM following HT, SGLT2 inhibitors significantly reduced rejection post transplantation. However, its impact on other important clinical outcomes, including mortality, should be further assessed with more data in future studies.