Antihypertensive effects and safety of eprosartan: a meta-analysis of randomized
controlled trials.
Author(s): Xu FY, Yang B, Shi D, Li H, Zou Z, Shi XY.
Affiliation(s): Company of Anesthesiology, Second Military Medical University, 800 Xiangyin Road,
Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.
Publication date & source: 2012, Eur J Clin Pharmacol. , 68(2):195-205
PURPOSE: The benefits of reducing blood pressure (BP) have been well established,
but uncertainty remains about the comparative effects of different BP-lowering
regimens. We aimed to estimate the efficacy and the tolerability of eprosartan
compared with other agents as monotherapy.
METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were searched for relevant studies.
A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) meeting the criteria was
performed using Review Manager and Stata/SE.
RESULTS: Twenty-two articles were ultimately included out of 78 studies,
involving 6,460 patients. Eprosartan had a greater systolic blood pressure (SBP)
reduction than placebo [weighted mean difference (WMD): 6.55, 95% confidence
interval (CI) 4.86-8.25] and losartan (WMD: 2.24, 95% CI 0.08-4.40) and a greater
diastolic blood pressure (DBP) reduction than placebo (WMD 3.95, 95% CI
2.77-5.13). Therapeutic response rate of BP favored eprosartan [risk ratio (RR)
1.13, 95% CI 1.03-1.24] compared with enalapril. There were no statistical
differences in SBP or DBP reductions comparing eprosartan with enalapril or
telmisartan. Original RCTs included comparing eprosartan with valsartan and
nitrendipine reported no differences in BP-lowering efficacy.
CONCLUSIONS: Eprosartan monotherapy is equivalent to many first-line
antihypertensive agents and is effective for the treatment of essential
hypertension, especially for isolated systolic hypertension. The favorable
efficacy and tolerability make eprosartan worthwhile to be taken into
consideration by physicians.
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