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Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Metformin, Glyburide, and Insulin in Treating Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta-Analysis

Lanlan Guo, Jing Ma, Jia Tang, D. Hu, Wei Zhang, Xue Zhao

Journal of Diabetes Research, 2019

7,703 participants · 151 citations

Abstract

To compare the efficacy and safety of metformin, glyburide, and insulin in treating gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted. PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library to November 13, 2018, were searched for RCT adjusted estimates of the efficacy and safety of metformin, glyburide, and insulin treatments in GDM patients. There were 41 studies involving 7703 GDM patients which were included in this meta-analysis; 12 primary outcomes and 24 secondary outcomes were detected and analyzed. Compared with metformin, insulin had a significant increase in the risk of preeclampsia (RR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.72; P < 0.001 ), NICU admission (RR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.87; P < 0.001 ), neonatal hypoglycemia (RR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.49 to 0.66; P < 0.001 ), and macrosomia (RR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.55 to 0.86; P < 0.05 ). To the outcomes of birth weight and gestational age at delivery, insulin had a significant increase when compared with metformin (MD, 114.48; 95% CI, 37.32 to 191.64; P < 0.01 ; MD, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.12 to 0.34; P < 0.001 ; respectively). Of the two groups between glyburide and metformin, metformin had lower gestational weight gain compared with glyburide (MD, 1.67; 95% CI, 0.26 to 3.07; P < 0.05 ). Glyburide had a higher risk of neonatal hypoglycemia compared with insulin (RR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.32 to 2.36; P < 0.001 ). This meta-analysis found that metformin could be a safe and effective treatment…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 7,703 participants or records.

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