The latest therapeutic news on gliflozins

Given their mechanism of action, sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) were initially intended to treat chronic hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetic patients, which turned out to be an error. The results observed on secondary endpoints during the first randomised trials in diabetic patients led the pharmaceutical industry to successfully evaluate these specialities in heart failure (with reduced or preserved left ventricular function), and in chronic kidney disease, with or without diabetes. The recent decision of the French national agency for the safety of medicines to extend the first prescription of SGLT2i to every practitioner makes general practitioners and their staff the key players in the proper use of these products, for the health of thousands of patients. Proper use considers the established clinical benefits and the risks involved. The primary objective of this article is to provide the reader with factual and objective information to promote a shared medical decision, between a doctor and a fairly and clearly informed patient.