Cutaneous Reactions to Antidiabetic Agents: A Narrative Review

Diabetes is a common and complex disease affecting multiple organ systems throughout the body. With a consensus in care guidelines emphasizing the importance of glycemic control in determining the disease progression, people with diabetes worldwide have been placed on medication regimens targeting glucose stability from a variety of pathophysiologic pathways. Each of these medications also possesses its own potential for adverse events. In recent years, there has been increased reports of skin reactions to diabetes medications, adding to the more widely known eruptions such as insulin-induced lipohypertrophy and contact dermatitis of subcutaneous injections. The authors searched PubMed, Google, and Embase for articles including adverse reactions to anti-hyperglycemic medications. Key words and titles searched included, “antidiabetic drugs”, “skin reactions”, “adverse drug reactions”, “allergic reactions”, “diabetes”, “metformin”, “insulin”, “DPP4 inhibitors”, “thiazolindineones”, “sulfonylureas”, “SGLT2 inhibitors”, “GLP-1 agonists”, “diabetic medication”, “injection site reactions”. As a result, a total of 59 papers are included in this review. The great majority were case reports ranging from benign fixed drug eruptions to severe cutaneous reactions that threaten patients’ lives. Increasing physician awareness of both the potential for, and presentation of, such reactions to diabetes medications can reduce hospitalizations and optimize care in an already vulnerable patient population.