DARWIN EU® - Characterisation of acute renal outcomes and diabetic complications among patients with concomitant use of metformin and iodinated contrast agents

03/07/2025
31/03/2026
EU PAS number:
EUPAS1000000662
Study
Finalised
Study type

Study topic

Disease /health condition
Human medicinal product

Study type

Non-interventional study

Scope of the study

Disease epidemiology

Data collection methods

Secondary use of data
Non-interventional study

Non-interventional study design

Cohort
Study drug and medical condition

Medicinal product name, other

Metformin, iodinated contrast agents

Study drug International non-proprietary name (INN) or common name

METFORMIN

Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) code

(A10BA02) metformin
metformin
Population studied

Short description of the study population

1) Cohort 1: Patients with type 2 diabetes initiating metformin.
2) Cohort 2: Patients with type 2 diabetes on metformin undergoing their first procedure requiring ICA.

Age groups

  • In utero
  • Paediatric Population (< 18 years)
    • Neonate
      • Preterm newborn infants (0 – 27 days)
      • Term newborn infants (0 – 27 days)
    • Infants and toddlers (28 days – 23 months)
    • Children (2 to < 12 years)
    • Adolescents (12 to < 18 years)
  • Adult and elderly population (≥18 years)
    • Adults (18 to < 65 years)
      • Adults (18 to < 46 years)
      • Adults (46 to < 65 years)
    • Elderly (≥ 65 years)
      • Adults (65 to < 75 years)
      • Adults (75 to < 85 years)
      • Adults (85 years and over)
Study design details

Study design

Retrospective cohort studies will be conducted using routinely collected health data from 4 databases.

Main study objective

1. To characterise patients with type 2 diabetes initiating treatment of metformin in terms of:
a. Demographics (age, sex)
b. Recorded comorbidities
c. Recorded duration from first diabetes diagnosis
d. Previous procedures with ICA, including phenotyping
e. CKD stage (most recent in past year), including phenotyping
2. To characterise patients with type 2 diabetes with a first procedure requiring ICA with ongoing metformin use in terms of :
a. Demographics (age, sex)
b. Comorbidities
c. Recorded duration from first diabetes diagnosis
d. CKD stage
e. ICA type
f. Time from metformin initiation to first procedure requiring ICA
3. To quantify the occurrence of renal dysfunction and of acute diabetes decompensation among patients with type 2 diabetes with a first procedure requiring ICA during metformin use specifically:
a. AKI, including phenotyping
b. Lactic acidosis
c. Diabetic ketoacidosis
d. Change in eGFR and CKD status before and after date of first procedure requiring ICA

Setting

This study was conducted using routinely collected data from 4 data sources from 4 European countries. All
data sources were previously mapped to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership Common Data
Model (OMOP CDM).
Denmark: Danish Data Health Registries (DK-DHR)
Finland: Finnish Care Register for Health Care (FinOMOP-THL)
Spain: The Information System for Research on Primary Care (SIDIAP)
The United Kingdom: Clinical Practice Research Datalink GOLD (CPRD GOLD)

Outcomes

The outcomes of the study were related to acute renal outcomes and acute diabetic complications.
We quantified the following outcomes among patients who had a first procedure requiring ICA during
ongoing metformin use:
• AKI
• Lactic acidosis
• Diabetic ketoacidosis
• Change in eGFR or CKD status before and after date of first procedure requiring ICA
The study outcomes are described conceptually, and the context or rationale for the choices are provided
in this section. The operational definition of the outcomes is presented in Table S6.