[One-year follow-up in real clinical practice conditions of type 2 diabetic patients treated with rosiglitazone: the Avantage study].

The Avandia, tolérance à grande échelle (Avantage) study was an observational study conducted in a large cohort of type 2 diabetic patients (T2D) followed for 12 months. Its aim was to assess in real clinical practice conditions, the tolerability of rosiglitazone, an oral antidiabetic agent of the new thiazolidinedione ("glitazone") class, available in France since May 2002. Study was carried out from December 2002 to January 2005. To be included, T2D seen during the inclusion period should start the rosiglitazone treatment (within eight days prior to 15 days after) in agreement with therapeutic indications and drug datasheet information in force at that time. Patient characteristics, clinical and biological data and adverse events (AE) during the 12-month follow-up were recorded. Among the 3845 T2D enrolled from January to November 2003, 3580 constituted the analyzed population (at least one documented rosiglitazone intake). At inclusion, mean age (+/-S.D.) was 62+/-11 years, 52% were male, mean BMI was 29.9+/-5.3kg/m2 and mean HbA1c was 8.5+/-1.4%. Ongoing antidiabetic treatments were mainly a monotherapy (46% of patients, metformin or a sulfonylurea) or a bitherapy (in 47%). Main reasons to prescribe rosiglitazone were insufficient control of diabetes (91% of patients), associated or not with a poor tolerance to the ongoing oral antidiabetic treatment at inclusion (in 29%) and/or with a contraindication to metformin (in 4%). Two thousand four hundred and twenty-four patients (71%) completed the 12-month follow-up. Along the study, 514 T2D (14%) experienced at least one AE, judged related to the treatment in the physician's opinion for 377 patients (11%). Two hundred and fifteen patients dropped out from the study due to AE. AE notified in more than 1% of patients were: weight gain (n=100 patients; 3% of the cohort), nausea (n=57; 2%), edema (n=55; 2%) and anemia (n=40; 1%). A seriousness criteria was reported for 105 patients (3% of the cohort), including 18 (<1%) heart failure. Mean HbA1c level decreased from 8.5+/-1.4% at inclusion to 7.8+/-1.6% at study end. Mean value of the main lipid parameters remained stable. Mean systolic blood pressure (BP) decreased from 137+/-13 to 135+/-12mmHg and diastolic BP from 79+/-8 to 78+/-8mmHg. Mean weight was 82+/-15kg at inclusion and 83+/-17kg at study end (NS), mean waist circumference was not significantly modified. In conclusion, the observational Avantage study, conducted in a large cohort of type 2 diabetic patients treated with rosiglitazone in clinical practice conditions and followed-up for 12 months, confirmed the results of controlled double blind clincal studies, with a clinical and biological tolerability in accordance with the known AE profile and a beneficial effect on metabolic control and arterial blood pressure.