Bendroflumethiazide 2.5mg / Potassium chloride 573mg (potassium 7.7mmol) modified-release tablets

BACKGROUND: The magnitude of blood pressure (BP)-lowering effects and decrease of the adverse effects of thiazide diuretics provided by potassium-sparing diuretics remain uncertain. The aim of this study was to compare the BP-lowering efficacy and the incidence of adverse effects of high (T+) and low-dose (T-) thiazide diuretics, alone or combined with high (PS+) or low-dose (PS-) potassium-sparing diuretics in patients with primary hypertension. METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and LILACS. Randomized double-blind placebo or active-controlled trials (RCT) with 3 weeks to 1 year of follow-up were included. Sample size, mean and standard deviation from baseline, follow-up and change from baseline values were extracted by two independent reviewers. Pairwise random effect models and Bayesian network meta-analysis models were used to compare the effects of treatments. The risk of bias in individual studies was assessed using the Rob 1.0 tool. The primary outcome was the mean difference in office SBP. Secondary outcomes were the mean difference in biochemical parameters and the incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer. RESULTS: Two hundred and seventy-six double-blind RCTs involving 58 807 participants (mean age: 55 years; 45% women) were included. All treatment groups were more effective than placebo in lowering BP, with mean differences (MDs) of change from baseline ranging from -7.66 mmHg [95% credible interval (95% CrI), -8.53 to -6.79] for T- to -12.77 mmHg (95% CrI, -15.22 to -10.31) for T+PS-. T+ alone or combined with potassium-sparing was more effective in reducing BP than T-. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) estimated ranking showed that the best effectiveness in lowering SBP was found for T+PS- (0.69), T+PS+ (0.65) and T+ (0.54). Compared with placebo, all treatments (except T-PS-) were associated with more potassium reduction and T+ compared with all other treatments and T- when compared with T-PS-. Compared with placebo, all active treatments (except T+PS+) showed higher elevations of uric acid. The increase of plasma glucose promoted by thiazides alone was reduced by potassium-sparing agents. CONCLUSION: Thiazides with potassium-sparing diuretics are associated with increased BP-lowering efficacy compared with thiazides alone while minimizing hypokalaemia and hyperglycaemia. These findings demonstrate that thiazide and potassium-sparing diuretic combination is preferable to thiazide alone in treating hypertension.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Thiazide diuretics, widely used in hypertension, cause a variety of adverse reactions, including hyperglycemia, hyperuricemia, and electrolyte abnormalities. In this study, we aimed to identify genetic variants that interact with thiazide‐use to increase the risk of these adverse reactions. Using UK Biobank data, we first performed genomewide variance quantitative trait locus (vQTL) analysis of ~ 6.2 million SNPs on 95,493 unrelated hypertensive White British participants (24,313 on self‐reported bendroflumethiazide treatment at recruitment) for 2 blood (glucose and urate) and 2 urine (potassium and sodium) biomarkers. Second, we conducted direct gene–environment interaction (GEI) tests on the significant ( P < 2.5 × 10 −9 ) vQTLs, included a second UK Biobank cohort comprising 13,647 unrelated hypertensive White British participants (3,478 on thiazides other than bendroflumethiazide) and set significance at P = 0.05 divided by the number of vQTL SNPs tested for GEIs. The vQTL analysis identified eight statistically significant SNPs for blood glucose (5 SNPs) and serum urate (3 SNPs), with none being identified for the urinary biomarkers. Two of the SNPs (1 glucose SNP: CDKAL1 intron rs35612982, GEI P = 6.24 × 10 −3 ; and 1 serum urate SNP: SLC2A9 intron rs938564, GEI P = 4.51 × 10 −4 ) demonstrated significant GEI effects in the first, but not the second, cohort. Both genes are biologically plausible candidates, with the SLC2A9 ‐mediated interaction having been previously reported. In conclusion, we used a two‐stage approach to detect two biologically plausible genetic loci that can interact with thiazides to increase the risk of thiazide‐associated biochemical abnormalities. Understanding how environmental exposures (including medications such as thiazides) and genetics interact, is an important step toward precision medicine and improved patient outcomes.

Abstract licence: CC BY

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are prone to developing arterial hypertension, and many patients are treated with the calcium channel blocker amlodipine. However, it remains unclear whether using this drug potentially affects the risk of acute severe exacerbations (AECOPD) and all-cause mortality in these patients. The data were collected from Danish national registries, containing complete information on health, prescriptions, hospital admissions, and outpatient clinic visits. The COPD patients (n = 48,488) were matched via propensity score on known predictors of the primary outcome in an active comparator design. One group was exposed to amlodipine treatment, and the other was exposed to bendroflumethiazide, since both of these drugs are considered to be the first choice for the treatment of arterial hypertension according to Danish guidelines. The use of amlodipine was associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes at the 1-year follow-up (hazard ratio 0.69, 95% confidence interval: 0.62–0.76) compared with the use of bendroflumethiazide in the matched patients. No difference in the risk of severe AECOPD was found. In the COPD patients, amlodipine use was associated with a lower risk of death from all causes compared with the use of bendroflumethiazide. Amlodipine seems to be a safe first choice for the treatment of arterial hypertension in COPD patients.

Abstract licence: CC BY

BACKGROUND: Elevated blood pressure is a major risk factor for severe medical conditions. Adherence to antihypertensive medication, especially in free-dose combinations, poses a significant challenge. This study aims to develop a novel method for assessing co-exposure to free-dose antihypertensive medications using secondary data sources. METHODS: A register-based cohort study was conducted on individuals aged 65 years or older in Denmark who initiated antihypertensive therapy from 1996 to 2016 and followed for 730 days from the index date. A new method was developed to assess co-exposure to antihypertensive medications through redeemed prescriptions, treatment episodes, and overlapping medication events. The method's accuracy was evaluated using a random sample of 400 individuals. RESULTS: A total of 1,021,819 individuals were included in the study, with a mean age of 68.8 years, and 53.7% were women. The method achieved 100% accuracy in identifying co-exposure periods. During the early stage of the follow-up (0-180 days), 54.1% of individuals were co-exposed to at least two antihypertensive medications, while 37.5% were co-exposed during the late stage of the follow-up period (181-730 days). The most frequent antihypertensive combinations included bendroflumethiazide and potassium with either amlodipine or enalapril in the early (13.2% and 12.5% of patients, respectively) and late stages (16.9% and 15.0% of patients, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The newly developed method effectively assesses co-exposure to antihypertensive medications, overcoming previous limitations. The findings reveal common co-exposure combinations and evolving trends in antihypertensive medication use among older individuals, reflecting changes in clinical practice and guidelines over two decades.

Abstract licence: CC BY