No abstract

To study patient compliance in hypertensive outpatients amlodipine (5 mg once daily) and slow release nifedipine (20 mg twice daily) were compared in an open, crossover study in general practices. Four methods of assessment for patient compliance (pill count, taking compliance, days with correct dosing, timing compliance) were used in both study arms. For the latter three assessment a special device, the medication event monitoring system, was used to record the time and date of each opening and closure of the container. The compliance of the 320 hypertensive patients with once-daily amlodipine was markedly superior to twice-daily slow release nifedipine. Therapeutic coverage was also significantly better for amlodipine in the hypertensive patients. Amlodipine was better tolerated than nifedipine slow release. Patient compliance and therapeutic coverage with the calcium antagonist amlodipine given once daily was superior to slow release nifedipine b.d. in hypertensive outpatients recruited in general practice.

No abstract

The effects of 4 weeks of placebo on clinic and on ambulatory blood pressure, measured non‐invasively using the Remler M 2000 portometer, were studied in 46 hypertensive patients who were included in three consecutive double‐blind randomized placebo‐controlled trials with antihypertensive drugs. Placebo significantly reduced clinic blood pressure, but had no significant effect on ambulatory blood pressure.