Tolerability of high doses of lercanidipine versus high doses of other dihydropyridines in daily clinical practice: the TOLERANCE Study.

摘要

The TOLERANCE study was aimed to compare the tolerability of high doses of lercanidipine (20 mg) with that of other frequently used dihydropyridines (amlodipine 10 mgifedipine GITS 60 mg) in the treatment of essential hypertension in daily clinical practice. It was an observational, transversal, multicentre study performed in a Primary Care Setting. A total of 650 evaluable patients with essential hypertension and age > or = 18 years were included. They had been treated with high doses of lercanidipine (n= 446) or amlodipineifedipine GITS (n= 204) during at least 1 month and previously with low doses (10 mg, 5 mg, and 30 mg, respectively) of the same drugs. The main objective was to compare the rates of vasodilation-related adverse events between both groups. Rates of signs and symptoms related to vasodilation were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in the amlodipineifedipine GITS group (76.8%, CI 95%[70.7; 82.9]) than in lercanidipine group (60.8%, [56.1;65.5]). Blood pressure control (< 140/90 mmHg or <130/80 for diabetics) and type of concomitant antihypertensive medications were similar in both groups. Treatment compliance was good (around 93%) and fairly comparable in both groups. Most adverse events with lercanidipine were mild (74.5% vs. 64% in amlodipineifedipine GITS group, P= 0.035) whereas severe adverse event rates did not differ significantly between groups (2.8% vs. 3.6%). In conclusion, treatment with lercanidipine at high doses is associated with a lower rate of adverse events related to vasodilation compared to high doses of amlodipine or nifedipine GITS in clinical practice.