Postoperative mortality and readmission rates among patients with type 2 diabetes has been investigated in a cohort study conducted in the United States. The study specifically examined if these key outcomes differed amongst those who had been receiving treatment with metformin prior to surgery, relative to those who did not. Of 10,088 adults with type 2 diabetes who underwent a major surgical intervention between 2010 and 2016, 59% had preoperative prescriptions for metformin. A propensity score-matched cohort of 5,460 patients showed reduced hazard for 90-day mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.72 [95% CI, 0.55-0.95]) associated with preoperative metformin prescriptions. In addition, reduced hazard for 30-day readmission (sub-HR, 0.84 [95% CI, 0.72-0.98]) and 90-day readmission (sub-HR, 0.86 [95% CI, 0.77-0.97]) was reported for those with prescriptions for metformin compared to those without. These findings imply that preoperative metformin prescriptions may be linked to reduced postoperative mortality and readmission among these patients, however further validation of the results is required. The original research can be viewed here.
Contributed by Australian Medication Safety Services Associate – Isabella Singh