Efficacy and safety of diazoxide for treating hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PLoS One. 2021 Feb 11;16(2):e0246463. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246463. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Diazoxide is the first-line drug for treating hyperinsulinism and the only pharmacological agent approved for hyperinsulinism by the Federal Drug Administration. This systemic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of diazoxide for treating hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia (HH). The meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of diazoxide in treating HH was performed by searching relevant studies in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases. The findings were summarized, and the pooled effect size and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. A total of 6 cohort studies, involving 1142 participants, met the inclusion criteria. Among the cohort studies, the pooled estimate of the response rate of diazoxide therapy was 71% (95% CI 50%-93%, Pheterogeneity< 0.001, I2 = 98.3%, Peffect< 0.001). The common side effects were hypertrichosis (45%), fluid retention (20%), gastrointestinal reaction (13%), edema (11%), and neutropenia (9%). Other adverse events included pulmonary hypertension (2%) and thrombocytopenia (2%). This meta-analysis suggested that diazoxide was potentially useful in HH management; however, it had some side effects, which needed careful monitoring. Furthermore, well-designed large-scale studies, such as randomized controlled trials, might be necessary in the future to obtain more evidence.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Antihypertensive Agents / adverse effects
  • Antihypertensive Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Diazoxide / adverse effects
  • Diazoxide / therapeutic use*
  • Humans
  • Hyperinsulinism / drug therapy*
  • Hypertrichosis / chemically induced
  • Hypoglycemia / drug therapy*
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Vasodilator Agents / adverse effects
  • Vasodilator Agents / therapeutic use*

Substances

  • Antihypertensive Agents
  • Vasodilator Agents
  • Diazoxide

Grants and funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work.