Microzide
Diuretic regimens in essential hypertension. A comparison of hypokalemic effects, BP control, and cost.

Licht JH, Haley RJ, Pugh B, Lewis SB.

Intolerable side effects and hypokalemia during thiazide treatment of hypertension frequently necessitate a change in diuretic regimen. The hypokalemic effects, effectiveness in controlling BP, and cost of several alternate diuretic regimens were evaluated. Prevalences of serum K+ values less than 3.5 mEq/L were as follows for the various regimens: hydrochlorothiazide, 50 mg daily, 11.0% (n = 500); chlorthalidone, 25 mg daily, 8.1% (n = 37); triamterene, 100 mg, plus hydrochlorothiazide, 50 mg daily, 5.3% (n = 357); hydrochlorothiazide, 25 mg daily, 2.2% (n = 183); and furosemide, 40 mg daily, 3.5% (n = 284). In paired studies comparing hydrochlorothiazide with alternate diuretic regimens, potassium conservation was comparable with furosemide, the triamterene/hydrochlorothiazide combination, the spironolactone/hydrochlorothiazide combination, and adding potassium, 37 mEq daily. All alternate diuretic regimens were as effective as hydrochlorothiazide in controlling BP. Furosemide reduced serum glucose and calcium levels compared with hydrochlorothiazide. When these factors and costs are considered, furosemide appears to be the most cost-effective alternative in patients with hypertension in whom intolerable side effects or hypokalemia develops while taking hydrochlorothiazide.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6412642&dopt=Abstract hydrochlorothiazide Microzide



Microzide
Simplified detection of hydrochlorothiazide in urine by thin-layer chromatography.

Stumph MJ, Noall MW.

A new thin-layer chromatographic procedure for the detection of the antihypertensive/diuretic drug hydrochlorothiazide in human urine is described. The sensitivity of the method, 5 micrograms/mL, makes it useful to both the clinician interested in determining patient compliance and the toxicologist who must identify or confirm hydrochlorothiazide ingestion. The rapidity of analysis typically allows the screening of 25 urine samples within one hour.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6471816&dopt=Abstract hydrochlorothiazide Microzide



Microzide
Elevated hemoglobin A1c and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in thiazide-treated diabetic patients.

Bloomgarden ZT, Ginsberg-Fellner F, Rayfield EJ, Bookman J, Brown WV.

Despite the well-known hyperglycemic effect of thiazide diuretics, these agents are often administered to diabetic patients. This study compared 89 insulin-treated diabetic patients receiving hydrochlorothiazide, 57 receiving furosemide, and 255 receiving no diuretic. Hemoglobin A1c level was 7.2 +/- 1.8 percent (mean +/- SD) with hydrochlorothiazide, significantly higher than the levels of 5.9 +/- 2.3 percent with furosemide and 6.4 +/- 2.0 percent with no diuretic. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level was 154 +/- 43 mg/dl with hydrochlorothiazide, but 134 +/- 42 mg/dl with furosemide and 130 +/- 42 mg/dl with no diuretic. Multivariate analysis showed that the associations remained significant after adjustment for age, sex, race, type and duration of diabetes, body mass index, blood pressure, serum potassium level, insulin dose, and treatment with other medications. These findings suggest that treatment with thiazide diuretics in the diabetic population may increase low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and hemoglobin A1c levels.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6496535&dopt=Abstract hydrochlorothiazide Microzide



Microzide
Potassium and magnesium abnormalities: diuretics and arrhythmias in hypertension.

Hollifield JW.

Thiazide diuretics are widely accepted as the cornerstone of antihypertensive treatment programs. Hypokalemia is a commonly encountered metabolic consequence of long-term thiazide therapy but the effect of thiazide on serum magnesium is less well known. Thirty-eight patients (22 low renin, 16 normal renin) with moderate diastolic hypertension were treated with hydrochlorothiazide administered twice a day. The initial daily dose was 50 mg; this was increased at four week intervals to 50 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg, and 200 mg. Dose escalation was discontinued when either normalization blood pressure was attained or the 200 mg dose level was reached. Patients were then maintained with their hydrochlorothiazide dose for 24 weeks of continuous thiazide monotherapy. The serum potassium during the control period was 4.5 +/- 0.2 mmol/liter. During dose escalation and long-term maintenance therapy, the serum potassium and magnesium levels fell in a step wise, dose-dependent fashion. In another 38-patient study, the effects of hydrochlorothiazide therapy (100 mg daily) on the occurrence of premature ventricular contractions were observed during rest as well as during static and dynamic exercise. During rest 0.6 +/- 0.08 premature ventricular contractions per minute (mean +/- SEM) were observed, and during dynamic exercise 0.8 +/- 0.15 premature ventricular contractions per minute. During hydrochlorothiazide therapy (50 or 100 mg per day) premature ventricular contractions per minute were 1.4 and 5.7, respectively. The occurrence of premature ventricular contractions correlated significantly with the decrease observed in serum potassium (r = 0.71, p less than 0.001) and in serum magnesium (r = 0.68, p less than 0.001). Thiazide therapy appears to cause both potassium and magnesium depletion, and decreases in both correlate well with the appearance of ventricular ectopic depolarizations.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6496557&dopt=Abstract hydrochlorothiazide Microzide



Microzide
Hydrochlorothiazide plus methyldopa in the treatment of isolated systolic hypertension in the elderly.

Boyles PW.

An open-label clinical trail comparing the effectiveness of the combination of methyldopa with hydrochlorothiazide in low doses with that of hydrochlorothiazide therapy alone was conducted in 21 elderly patients with isolated systolic hypertension. The combination therapy reduced the systolic blood pressure to levels markedly lower than those measured at baseline and after two weeks of hydrochlorothiazide therapy. Standing blood pressure fell from a mean of 166/90 mmHg at baseline to a mean of 164/88 mmHg after two weeks of hydrochlorothiazide treatment and to a mean of 132/80 mmHg after 16 weeks of treatment with hydrochlorothiazide and methyldopa. Side effects were mild, and there were no significant changes in laboratory findings.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6509462&dopt=Abstract hydrochlorothiazide Microzide