title: Conversion from 2.5 mg to 1.25 mg indapamide in patients with mild to moderate hypertension.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Indapamide is an effective antihypertensive drug with diuretic and vasodilating activities. The common starting dose has been 2.5 mg to 5 mg. A lower dose formulation (1.25 mg) is now available. The safety and efficacy of switching patients from indapamide 2.5 mg to indapamide 1.25 mg was evaluated in this randomized, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred seventy-eight adult patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension were enrolled in a washout period, during which patients received single-blind placebo for 4 weeks. All 378 patients qualified for the study and received open-label treatment with indapamide 2.5 mg for 8 weeks. Of the 378 patients, 265 responded to indapamide 2.5 mg and were randomized to receive double-blind treatment with either indapamide 1.25 mg (n = 132) or 2.5 mg (n = 133) for 8 weeks. Overall, 245 of the 378 patients who were initially enrolled completed the study. The primary efficacy variable was the number of patients in each treatment group who maintained a supine diastolic blood pressure of < or = 90 mm Hg (treatment success) by the end of the double-blind period (week 16).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Treatment with indapamide 1.25 mg once daily was as efficacious as the 2.5-mg once-daily dose. No significant difference was observed for the percentage of patients who achieved treatment success between the patients switched from indapamide 2.5 to 1.25 mg (74%) and the control group maintained on indapamide 2.5 mg (70%). The incidence of drug-related adverse events during the double-blind period was similar between the two treatment groups. The mean change from pretreatment baseline to endpoint in serum potassium was -0.2 mEq/L (-0.2 mmol/L) in the indapamide 1.25 mg treatment group, compared with -0.4 mEq/L (-0.4 mmol/L) in the indapamide 2.5 mg treatment group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Indapamide 1.25 mg given once daily for 8 weeks was as effective as 2.5 mg once daily in reducing systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with mild to moderate hypertension.
authors.affiliation: VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chrysant
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dawson
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vergis
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Codispoti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stokes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007190:Indapamide / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D007190:Indapamide