Background: Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) are antidiabetic drugs known for their minimal side effects and limited drug interaction witih immunosuppressants, making them suitable for patients with diabetes and kidney transplant recipients. However, there is limited real-world information regarding the use of DPP-4 inhibitors in patients with post transplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM).
Method: We performed a retrospective observational cohort study of 13,828 kidney transplant recipients form Janary 1, 2002, through December 21, 2018, using the Korean National Health Information Database. We extracted PTDM patients, and divided the patients into 2 groups baased on whether they received DPP4-inhibitor which needs dose adjustement (group A) or not (Group B) according to estimaged glomerular filtration rate.
Results: Out of 3154 patients who developed PTDM after transplantation, 738 patients prescribed DPP-4 inhibitors. Among these, 490 patients prescribed Group B DPP-4 inhibitors and 238 patients prescribed Group A DPP-4 inhibitors. Multivariate-adjusted Cox regression analysis showed that compared Group B, Group A DPP-4 inhibitors was associated with higher incidence rate of genital tract infection (hazard ratio (HR) 1.87, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.18-2.99), and emergency department visit (HR 3.12, 95% CI 1.89-5.16). However, there was no significantly difference in death (any cause), admission, graft failure, infection, or hypoglycemia between the 2 groups.
Conclusions: In patients with PTDM, some kinds of DPP-4 inhibitors, which need dose adjustment according to renal function, were associated with an increased rate of emergency department visit and genital tract infection.
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