A transparent machine learning algorithm uncovers HbA1c patterns associated with therapeutic inertia in patients with type 2 diabetes and failure of metformin monotherapy

Musacchio Nicoletta, Rita Zilich, Davide Masi, Fabio Baccetti, Besmir Nreu, Carlo Bruno Giorda, Giacomo Guaita, Lelio Morviducci, Marco Muselli, Alessandro Ozzello, Federico Pisani, Paola Ponzani, Antonio Rossi, Pierluigi Santin, Damiano Verda, Graziano Di Cianni, Riccardo Candido

Abstract: Highlights•Often patients treated with metformin alone do not reach the recommended glycemic target.•Therapeutic inertia is a common issue among patients with type 2 diabetes and requires early and personalized intervention.•Our learning machine model identified two patterns of HbA1c that are associated with increased risk of therapeutic inertia.