Sulfonylureas

Drug	Duration of biologic effect (hours)	Usual daily dose (mg)	Dosing per day
Glipizide	14 to 16	2.5 to 10	Once or divided*
Glipizide XL	24	5 to 10, up to 20 mg	Once
Gliclazide	10 to 24	40 to 160, up to 320	Once daily for doses <160 mg (doses of 160 mg and above should be taken in 2 divided doses)
Gliclazide MR	>24	30 to 60, up to 120	Once
Glyburide (conventional tablets; glibenclamide)	20 to 24+	2.5 to 10, up to 20	Once or divided*
Glyburide (micronized tablets)	24	0.75 to 6, up to 12	Once or divided^¶
Glimepiride	24+	2 to 4, up to 8	Once (can give 4 mg twice daily instead of 8 mg once daily)

* Some patients may be effectively controlled on a once-daily regimen (2.5, 5, or 10 mg once daily) before the largest meal. Most have a better response with divided dosing (5 or 10 mg twice daily), depending on eating pattern.
¶ Patients receiving more than 6 mg daily may have a better response with divided dosing (eg, 4.5 mg twice daily).

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