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Combine and conquer: advantages and disadvantages of fixed‐dose combination therapy
Author(s) -
Bell D. S. H.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
diabetes, obesity and metabolism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.445
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1463-1326
pISSN - 1462-8902
DOI - 10.1111/dom.12015
Subject(s) - fixed dose combination , concordance , combination therapy , medicine , adverse effect , intensive care medicine , type 2 diabetes mellitus , diabetes mellitus , endocrinology
The majority of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus ( T2DM ) do not achieve the glycaemic goals recommended by leading diabetes organizations using monotherapy alone, and often require multiple antihyperglycaemic agents to achieve glycaemic control. Fixed‐dose combination ( FDC ) therapies offer a means to simplify complex treatment regimens, and have several advantages that help patients reach their glycaemic goals. In this review, four key benefits are identified and discussed in support of FDC s for treatment of patients with T2DM : (i) Greater efficacy compared with higher dose monotherapy, (ii) Reduced risk of adverse reactions relative to higher dose monotherapy, (iii) Lower overall costs and (iv) Improved medication concordance. Given these advantages, the place of fixed combination therapy in the course of treatment is discussed. Establishing a therapeutic strategy that incorporates fixed combination therapy (including combinations with insulin) will simplify the treatment of diabetes, ideally resulting in improved medication concordance, clinical outcomes and quality of life for patients with T2DM .