PMID: 9631111Jun 19, 1998Paper

A randomised crossover comparison of reserpine and sustained-release nifedipine in hypertension

The Central African Journal of Medicine
J Manyemba

Abstract

To compare the effectiveness of the combination of hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) plus sustained-release nifedipine with the combination of HCT plus reserpine in lowering high blood pressure (BP) unresponsive to HCT monotherapy. An open, randomised crossover drug trial. Outpatients' clinic in Parirenyatwa Hospital, Harare, a tertiary referral centre. 32 Black patients of both sexes with newly diagnosed or previously treated hypertension aged between 21 and 65 years who had a BP > 140/95 after receiving HCT 25 mg daily for four weeks were studied. Patients were kept on HCT 25 mg daily and were randomised to receive either reserpine 0.25 mg daily or nifedipine (Adalat Retard) 20 mg bd for four weeks. This was followed by a two week washout period during which patients received HCT 25 mg daily only. After the washout period patients were crossed over to the alternative treatment for four weeks. Patients were kept on HCT 25 mg daily throughout the trial. The main outcome measure was the fall in BP which was taken as the difference between the BP at baseline and the BP at the end of each treatment period. Both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) measurements were taken. Both second line drugs were effective i...Continue Reading

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