Effects of empagliflozin on quality of life and healthcare use and costs in chronic kidney disease: a health economic analysis of the EMPA-KIDNEY trial
Abstract
Summary Background Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) slow progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) but there is no randomised evidence of their effects on health-related quality of life (QoL) and healthcare use. We explored the effects of empagliflozin on health-related QoL, healthcare use and UK healthcare costs in the EMPA-KIDNEY trial. Methods EMPA-KIDNEY, a randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial, was conducted at 241 centres in eight countries (Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the UK, and the USA), and included participants aged 18 years or older with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 20 to <45 mL/min/1.73 m2, or with an eGFR of 45 to <90 mL/min/1.73 m2 and a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) of ≥200 mg/g at screening. They were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive empagliflozin 10 mg once daily or matching placebo. We estimated the effect of empagliflozin (UK£1.31/day) on exploratory outcomes (unless otherwise specified) of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), UK costs (2023 UK£) of hospital admissions (a prespecified secondary outcome), concomitant medications and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD; a prespecified tertiary outcome) management over 2 years on study treatment (median active-trial follow-up) and on ESKD costs over 2 further years off study treatment (median post-trial follow-up) using shared parameter models analysing outcomes together with time to death or negative binomial…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 3,305 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Risk Factors for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Death in a Population Cohort Study from the Western Cape Province, South Africa
- Global and regional estimates of genital human papillomavirus prevalence among men: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- A methodology for assessing deployment trauma and its consequences in OEF/OIF/OND veterans: The TRACTS longitudinal prospective cohort study
- Post‑COVID‑19 Syndrome in Outpatients: a Cohort Study
- Factors Influencing Primary and Secondary Implant Stability—A Retrospective Cohort Study with 582 Implants in 272 Patients
- Electroacupuncture for Painful Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: A Multicenter, Randomized, Assessor-Blinded, Controlled Trial
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.