A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF METFORMIN IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN PATIENT

A retrospective analysis was conducted to determine the effects of met formin on glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), body weight and adverse eve nts in an African-American population. Thirty-six patients who were re ceiving combination therapy with metformin and either a sulfonylurea o r insulin were identified from a hospital pharmacy database, Nineteen patients met the criteria for efficacy analysis. The combination of me tformin with either a sulfonylurea or insulin resulted in a decrease o f the average HbA1c from a baseline of 10.07% to 7.92% (Delta=2.15%). The effect of combination therapy on weight was variable; however, twi ce as many patients lost weight compared with those who gained weight. Metformin appeared to be well-tolerated, with gastrointestinal sympto ms being the most commonly reported adverse events.