Sugar and Spice: Canagliflozin and Renal Outcomes and Quality of Life in Atrial Fibrillation

Kieran Quinn, general internist and palliative care physician in Toronto, is joined by Emily Hughes, the producer of the show and soon-to-be Internal Medicine resident at the University of Toronto on this week’s episode of The Rounds Table! Together they are covering canagliflozin and renal outcomes, and quality of life among patients with atrial fibrillation receiving catheter ablation versus medical therapy.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of kidney failure; our current treatments include blockade of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Sodium-glucose transport protein 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors initially designed for glycemic control may provide additional benefits, such as renal protection. Emily discusses the CREDENCE trial, which was designed to assess the effects of canagliflozin compared to placebo on renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and albuminuric chronic kidney disease.

Patients with atrial fibrillation seek medical attention often if they are symptomatic. When catheter ablation was first introduced it was a final resort therapy but now it is more widely used for treatment of atrial fibrillation. Kieran covers an important companion paper on quality of life outcomes for the CABANA trial discussed on a previous episode on the show. He reviews quality of life among patients with atrial fibrillation receiving catheter ablation compared with medical therapy.

Finally, the Good Stuff segment. Emily shares an article on using the Butterfly iQ ultrasound probe that connects to an iPhone designed to bring point-of-care ultrasound to Ugandan communities. Kieran highlights a prosthetic voice that decodes what the brain plans to say and creates intelligible sentences from this.

Like what you hear? Rate us on iTunes! Chat with us on Twitter at @roundstable and tweet at Kieran Quinn @kieranlquinn and Emily Hughes @emmy_hughes.

Interested in helping us evaluate our podcast episodes? We’re currently recruiting a panel of residents to serve as regular reviewers for the show. If you’re interested, email wkwong@qmed.ca.