Outpatient Discharge Therapy With Saxagliptin+MetforminXR vs GlipizideXL for Type 2 Diabetes With Severe Hyperglycemia

There is very little information regarding diabetes discharge regimens for patients with recently diagnosed diabetes (\<1 year duration) who present with severe hyperglycemia (blood glucose 300-450 mg/dl) to the ED or other clinical settings and who do not need to be admitted. A combination of Saxagliptin+Metformin XR, could be a potential drug combination to be tested as an initial treatment in these circumstances compared to Glipizide XL which was shown to be effective in our previous study. We expect Saxagliptin to improve beta cell function and decrease glucagon levels as was shown for the DPP-IV class medications and in turn improve blood glucose levels, while Metformin XR may reduce insulin resistance and hepatic glucose output. Such discharge therapy may help to prevent deterioration into acute metabolic complications (DKA or hyperosmolar states) and avoid hospitalization. A high proportion of patients may achieve glycemic targets without significant hypoglycemia as measured by self glucose monitoring and objectively by continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS). Such an easy regimen may safely bridge the time gap until patients will be seen by their providers.