What is the use of Jardiance (Empagliflozin)?

From the Guidelines

Jardiance (empagliflozin) is a medication primarily used to treat type 2 diabetes, lower blood sugar levels, reduce cardiovascular risks, and manage heart failure, with a typical starting dose of 10 mg once daily, as recommended by the most recent guidelines 1.

Key Uses and Benefits

• The medication works by helping the kidneys remove excess sugar from the bloodstream through urine, which lowers blood glucose levels.
• Jardiance has shown benefits in reducing the risk of cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease, as demonstrated in the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial 1.
• It can also help improve heart failure outcomes regardless of diabetes status, as shown in the EMPEROR-Reduced trial 1.

Important Considerations

• Patients should maintain adequate hydration while taking Jardiance and be aware of potential side effects including urinary tract infections, genital yeast infections, and volume depletion.
• Regular monitoring of kidney function is important while using this medication, and patients should inform their healthcare provider about all other medications they're taking to avoid potential interactions.
• The medication should be used with caution in patients with prior amputation, severe peripheral neuropathy, severe peripheral vascular disease, or active diabetic foot ulcers or soft tissue infections, as recommended by the 2020 expert consensus decision pathway 1.

Dosage and Administration

• The typical starting dose is 10 mg once daily, taken in the morning with or without food, which may be increased to 25 mg daily if needed for better glycemic control.
• No further dose titration is needed for CV or renal risk reduction, as stated in the 2020 expert consensus decision pathway 1.

Overall Recommendation

Jardiance (empagliflozin) is a valuable medication for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular risk reduction, and heart failure management, with a favorable safety profile and significant benefits in reducing morbidity, mortality, and improving quality of life, as supported by the most recent and highest quality studies 1.

From the FDA Drug Label

JARDIANCE is a prescription medicine used to: reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalization for heart failure in adults with heart failure, when the heart cannot pump enough blood to the rest of your body. reduce the risk of cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes and who also have known cardiovascular disease lower blood sugar along with diet and exercise in adults and children who are 10 years of age and older with type 2 diabetes.

The use of Jardiance (Empagliflozin) is to:

• Reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalization for heart failure in adults with heart failure
• Reduce the risk of cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease
• Lower blood sugar along with diet and exercise in adults and children who are 10 years of age and older with type 2 diabetes 2 2

From the Research

Use of Jardiance (Empagliflozin)

• Jardiance (Empagliflozin) is a sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor used for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) 3, 4, 5, 6.
• It is an effective and generally well-tolerated antihyperglycaemic agent that offers the convenience of once-daily oral administration and carries a low inherent risk of hypoglycaemia 3, 5.
• Empagliflozin exerts a favourable effect on a number of nonglycaemic outcomes, including modest reductions in bodyweight and blood pressure 3, 4, 5, 6.
• As an adjunct to standard care, it demonstrated cardioprotective and renoprotective properties largely independent of glycaemic control in patients with T2D and established cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a mandated cardiovascular (CV) outcomes trial (EMPA-REG OUTCOME) 3, 7, 6.
• Empagliflozin is generally well tolerated as monotherapy or as add-on therapy, with common adverse events including genital mycotic infections, kidney failure, and diabetic ketoacidosis 4, 7, 5, 6.

Mechanism of Action

• Empagliflozin works by inhibiting the reabsorption of glucose from the proximal tubules in the kidney via inhibition of SGLT2, providing a novel insulin-independent mechanism of lowering blood glucose 3, 4, 5.
• This effect results in a reduction in fasting and postprandial glycaemia and a decrease of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), independently of insulin 4, 5.

Clinical Trials

• Empagliflozin has been studied in several phase III trials and extension studies, demonstrating improved glycaemic control, reduced bodyweight, and systolic blood pressure in adult patients with type 2 diabetes 3, 4, 5, 6.
• The EMPA-REG OUTCOME study showed that empagliflozin added to standard of care treatment reduced the risk of cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with T2D who were also at increased CV risk 7, 6.