ABSTRACT
A sample of 500 patients with mild to moderate hypertension, who had been successfully controlled on once daily timolol/bendrofluazide at the end of a 3-month general practice study, was followed up after approximately 1 year of treatment. Physicians who had participated in the trial were questioned on the current status of these patients. Out of 479 reports received, data showed that 358 (75%) patients were still normotensive 47 weeks after starting treatment with timolol/bendrofluazide and in a further 8 patients other antihypertensive agents had been added to this therapy. Of the 113 patients no longer receiving timolol/bendrofluazide, only 38 (7.9%) had stopped therapy due to adverse effects. It is concluded that the results are a further indication that timolol/bendrofluazide offers an acceptable and balanced long-term form of therapy in hypertension for both the patient and the physician.
Subject(s)
Bendroflumethiazide/therapeutic use , Hypertension/drug therapy , Timolol/therapeutic use , Adult , Aged , Bendroflumethiazide/adverse effects , Body Weight/drug effects , Clinical Trials as Topic , Drug Combinations/adverse effects , Drug Combinations/therapeutic use , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pulse/drug effects , Timolol/adverse effectsABSTRACT
A fixed dose combination of 10 mg timolol and 2.5 mg bendrofluazide was evaluated in 1640 general practice patients with mild to moderate hypertension. This was an open study lasting 3 months with an initial 2-week placebo controlled run-in phase. Of the 1315 patients who were evaluable, 1169 (89%) became normotensive on a mean single daily dose of 1.75 tablets. Fifty-four (4%) patients were uncontrolled on a maximum dose of 4 tablets daily and 79 (6%) patients stopped therapy prematurely due to side-effects. A further 13 (1%) patients withdrew because of hypotension or bradycardia. Biochemical parameters stayed within normal values. Overall, the results showed that the combination of timolol and bendrofluazide was an effective and well accepted treatment for mild to moderate hypertension in a large and varied general practice population.
Subject(s)
Antihypertensive Agents/therapeutic use , Bendroflumethiazide/therapeutic use , Hypertension/drug therapy , Timolol/therapeutic use , Adult , Aged , Bendroflumethiazide/adverse effects , Blood Pressure/drug effects , Drug Combinations/adverse effects , Drug Combinations/therapeutic use , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pulse/drug effects , Timolol/adverse effectsABSTRACT
A preliminary report is given on the first 500 patients entered in an on-going open study in general practice of a combination of 10 mg timolol maleate and 2.5 mg bendrofluazide used to treat mild to moderate essential hypertension. After a 2-week placebo period, dose titration was conducted at weekly intervals, with a final assessment 8 weeks after the diastolic blood pressure was controlled. Data for 472 patients out of 492 commencing active therapy were evaluated. Four-hundred and thirty-seven (93%) became normotensive (less than or equal to mmHg diastolic) on a mean dose of 1.9 tablets taken as a single daily dose. Control was maintained over the follow-up period in all but 13 (2.6%) patients who required a dosage reduction and 2 (0.4%) who required a dosage increase. The incidence of side-effects was low, 22 (4.4%) patients stopping treatment due to adverse events. Biochemical parameters all stayed within normal values. The rapidity of dosage titration, patient acceptability, compliance with regard to the once daily dosage and the low incidence of side-effects suggest that the timolol/bendrofluazide combination approaches optimum therapy for mild to moderate hypertension.
Subject(s)
Bendroflumethiazide/therapeutic use , Hypertension/drug therapy , Propanolamines/therapeutic use , Timolol/therapeutic use , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aging , Bendroflumethiazide/adverse effects , Blood Pressure/drug effects , Drug Combinations , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Timolol/adverse effectsABSTRACT
The effects of intra-articular methotrexate (MTX) were compared with saline in 20 patients with persistent knee effusions due to rheumatoid arthritis (15) and psoriasis (5) in a double-blind pilot study. Clinical improvement was seen in most patients given either MTX or saline and was attributed to joint irrigation during arthroscopy and the placebo effects. MTX had a local anti-inflammatory effect in the psoriatic arthropathies; the percentages of polymorphonuclear cells and pyroninophilic mononuclear cells in synovial fluids fell sharply. Intraarticular hydrocortisone acetate was not anti-inflammatory in 2 psoriatic patients treated subsequently. The anti-inflammatory action of MTX in joints may resemble its effectiveness in controlling the rash of psoriasis.
