Efficacy of Tolvaptan on refractory heart failure in patients aged 75 years and older / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the therapeutic effects of Tolvaptan on refractory heart failure in patients aged 75 years and older.Methods:This was a randomized controlled trial.A total of 68 patients with refractory heart failure aged 75 years and older were divided into the control group(n=38)and the experimental group(n=30)by randomly generated numbers.Patients in the control group were given levosimendan and recombinant human brain natriuretic peptide intravenously plus routine treatments such as diuresis and electrolyte correction.In the experimental group, 30 patients were given a single dose of 15 mg Tolvaptan per day in addition to what was received by the control group.The effects on heart failure were compared between the two groups 1 week after treatment.Changes in rehospitalization rate, emergency intervention frequency and mortality rate were recorded after a 3-month follow-up.Results:Clinical symptoms of heart failure were alleviated in both the experimental and control groups after treatment.Improvements in 24-h urine volume, body weight and 6-minute walking distance were more significant in the experimental group than in the control group after treatment[(1 470.5±200.6)ml vs.(972.5±201.7)ml, (-6.4±2.1)kg vs.(-2.8±1.9)kg, (189.3±13.7)m vs.(151.3±12.5)m, P<0.05]. Changes in serum sodium levels and improvement of LVEF were greater and reduction of N-terminal B-type brain natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP)levels was more significant in the experimental group than in the control group after treatment[(5.2±2.1)μmol/L vs.(-1.1±2.4)μmol/L, (10.1±4.1)% vs.(7.0±4.0)%, (-6 670±1 815.7)ng/L vs.(-5 025.3±1 876.7)ng/L, P<0.05]. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups( P>0.05). The experimental group had shorter hospital stays, while the rehospitalization rate, emergency intervention times and mortality had no significant difference between the two groups during the follow-up period( P>0.05). Conclusions:Addition of Tolvaptan to treatment can increase urine volume, improve cardiac function, correct hyponatremia and shorten the length of hospitalization in refractory heart failure patients aged 75 years and older with good safety and has no significant impact on renal function.