Empagliflozin posts electrolyte results in kidney disease trial

ClinicalTrials.gov posted results on 22 September 2026 for a completed Phase 2 trial of empagliflozin in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Among the posted measurements, median 24-hour urinary calcium excretion was 4 mmol/24h with empagliflozin and 2.3 mmol/24h with placebo.

Background

The trial studied empagliflozin, described in the registry as an SGLT2 inhibitor, to better understand electrolyte handling in people with ADPKD. Its focus was the kidney’s handling of the divalent ions calcium, phosphate and magnesium. The supplied record does not provide information about prior approvals or disease prevalence.

Trial design

This completed Phase 2 study enrolled 16 participants with ADPKD. Participants were randomized to empagliflozin or placebo for two weeks, followed by a two-week washout period. The primary outcome was tubular handling of calcium, phosphate and magnesium; secondary outcomes included diuresis, safety and tolerability. The registry lists no primary-outcome entries, but reports measurements for both treatment groups.

Key results

Median serum phosphate was 1.12 mmol/l with empagliflozin and 1.10 mmol/l with placebo. Median 24-hour urinary phosphate was 26 mmol/24h and 22.95 mmol/24h, respectively. Median 24-hour urinary calcium excretion was 4 mmol/24h with empagliflozin and 2.3 mmol/24h with placebo; urinary magnesium excretion was 4.605 mmol/24h and 4.25 mmol/24h.

Median serum calcium was 2.32 mmol/l with empagliflozin and 2.27 mmol/l with placebo. Median serum magnesium was 0.85 mmol/l and 0.79 mmol/l, respectively. Although the record identifies the dispersion measure as the interquartile range, it supplies no interquartile-range values. A listed mixed-model analysis reports a relative difference of 0.0 and p=0.05, with a 95% confidence interval specified but no bounds provided; the analysis entry does not name an outcome.

What this means

The posted medians describe short-term measurements in a small trial, not evidence that empagliflozin improves clinical outcomes in ADPKD. Missing dispersion values and confidence-interval bounds, along with the unnamed analysis outcome, limit interpretation of differences between groups. The record also provides no adverse-event summary, so it does not establish safety or tolerability findings.

Source

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, trial registry results for “Short-term Effects of an SGLT2 Inhibitor on Divalent Ions in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease,” posted 22 September 2026. Available at clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06435858.