Several recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have established the widespread therapeutic use of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in improving renal and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with native kidney disease. Dapagliflozin became the first SGLT2 inhibitor to be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) independent of diabetes status in April 2021. However, while the medicines had received widespread praise for their cardiovascular and nephroprotective benefits in patients with native kidney disease, nothing was known regarding the safety and efficacy of SGLT2i in the kidney transplant scenario. Many of the processes through which SGLT2i helped patients with CKD were likely to be just as effective, if not more so, in kidney transplant recipients.
However, due to safety concerns, transplant recipients have been omitted from all significant RCTs, leaving physicians and patients alike to question if the advantages of these remarkable treatments exceed the hazards. For a study, researchers discuss the known mechanisms that SGLT2i use to provide their beneficial effects, as well as the potential benefits and risks of these agents in the context of kidney transplantation. Finally, they discuss current findings from the published literature for SGLT2i use in kidney transplant recipients and propose potential future research directions.
Reference:journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20420188221090001
