Physicians should be careful and identify certain potential risk factors for diabetic ketoacidosis before prescribing SGLT2 inhibitors. The FDA said that SGLT2 (sodium-glucose cotransporter-2) inhibitors such as empagliflozin, dapagliflozin, and canagliflozin will need new warnings on the risks of ketoacidosis, urinary tract infections, and other serious illnesses. More than 70 cases of ketoacidosis have been reported to the agency, as well as 19 "life-threatening" cases of urosepsis and pyelonephritis, according to an FDA drug safety communication.
The 19 cases of serious urinary tract infections occurred only in patients treated with canagliflozin or dapagliflozin, although the FDA stopped short of saying that empagliflozin was free of such risk. Although none were fatal, four patients needed intensive care treatment and all were hospitalized. No data were available on patients’ prior…
