Metformin-associated lactic acidosis precipitated by liraglutide use: adverse effects of aggressive antihyperglycaemic therapy
Abstract
Older patients with type 2 diabetes are prone to developing adverse events with aggressive antihyperglycaemic therapy. Metformin-associated lactic acidosis (MALA) is one such rare, life-threatening adverse drug effect. We report the case of a 70-year-old man with a glycated haemoglobin of 7.9% who was on a stable, maximally tolerated dose of metformin for managing his type 2 diabetes. He was initiated on liraglutide injections with hopes to achieve better glycaemic control, but developed unrelenting nausea and vomiting during the third week of treatment. He presented to the hospital with these symptoms and was noted to have severe MALA. He sustained an in-hospital cardiac arrest requiring emergent resuscitation along with vasopressor and mechanical ventilator support. He underwent continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration to remove metformin and correct the acidosis, following which he stabilised and supportive therapy was weaned off. He was discharged from the hospital on insulin therapy with incomplete renal recovery.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a case report, done in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Metformin as an adjuvant in breast cancer treatment
- Metformin Lysosomal Targeting: A Novel Aspect to Be Investigated for Metformin Repurposing in Neurodegenerative Diseases?
- Aberrant HSF1 signaling activation underlies metformin amelioration of myocardial infarction in mice
- Metformin induces ZFP36 by mTORC1 inhibition in cervical cancer-derived cell lines
- Protein Interaction Network for Identifying Vascular Response of Metformin (Oral Antidiabetic)
- Preventing Long COVID With Metformin
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.