Choudhary Tariq Masood, Rizwan Aziz Qazi, Maqbool Hussain.
Efficacy of Pioglitazone as a Monotherapy on Glycemic Control, Lipids and Blood Pressure in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
Ann Pak Inst Med Sci Jan ;9(1):12-6.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of Pioglitazone in a dose of 30 mg once daily as a monotherpay on glucose level, lipid profile and blood pressure in type-2 diabetes mellitus. Study Design: Quasi-Experimental study Place and Duration: January 2008 to June 2008 in the Department of Medicine, District Headquarter Teaching Hospital, Mirpur, Azad Kashmir. Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study a total of 100 patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus were enrolled in the Department of Medicine at District Headquarter Teaching Hospital, Mirpur, Azad Kashmir between January 2008 and June 2008. The aim of the study was to determine the efficacy of Pioglitazone in a dose of 30 mg once daily as a monotherpay on glucose level, lipid profile and blood pressure in type-2 diabetes mellitus. Results: A reduction in mean HbA1c level from 9.1 + 0.1 at baseline to 8.3 + 0.8 after 3 months of pioglitazone treatment was observed (p-value=<0.001). The decrease in fasting blood sugar was also statistically significant. Fasting blood sugars dropped from 202.6 mg/dL at baseline to 188.4 mg/dL after 3 months therapy (p-value = <0.001). Other findings of our study showed 9.6 mg/dL (3.0%) reduction in cholesterol levels, 0.3 mg/dL (0.7%) in LDL levels and 9.2 mg/dL (3.5%) in the LDL levels. Conclusion: Pioglitazone as a monotherapy has a definite role in glycemic control, dyslipidemia and hypertension in type 2 diabetic patients. However, keeping in mind the side effects of the pioglitazone therapy, specially weight gain, edema and hypoglycaemia, a careful patient selection and closely monitored follow-up of these patients is needed.

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