Albuminuria-reducing effect of angiotensin II receptor blocker plus hydrochlorothiazide combination therapy in renal transplant recipients.
In recent years, the combined use of angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and low-dose diuretics has become clinically possible. Moreover, the GUARD and J-CORE studies have confirmed that the addition of low-dose diuretics to renin-angiotensin system inhibitors reduces albuminuria. In this study, we investigated the clinical effects of a combination drug containing an ARB and a low-dose diuretic in renal transplant recipients. A total of 13 renal transplant recipients who were receiving the maximum dose of the ARB and presenting with microalbuminuria [urine albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) of 30-300 mg/g-Cre] were converted to a single pill combination drug containing the same amount of the ARB and 12.5 mg of hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and an intervention study of a crossover trial design was conducted. The clinical parameters were measured at baseline, 3 months after ARB/HCTZ conversion and 3 months after reverting to the ARB and the resulting data were compared. Serum creatinine (S-Cre) and uric acid (UA) levels at 3 months after conversion were significantly higher than those at baseline. The levels of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and ACR at 3 months were significantly lower than those at baseline. S-Cre and UA levels at 3 months after reversion were significantly lower than those at 3 months after conversion. The eGFR and levels of ACR and UA at 3 months after ARB reversion were significantly higher than those at 3 months after conversion. The results of this preliminary study suggest that the combination drug containing an ARB and low-dose diuretic was effective for reducing microalbuminuria in renal transplant recipients. In the future, larger cohort studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Department of Urology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka,  Japan.
Toshihide
T
Naganuma
Yoshiaki
Y
Takemoto
Junji
J
Uchida
Taiyou
T
Ootoshi
Nobuyuki
N
Kuwabara
Satoshi
S
Maeda
Tatsuya
T
Nakatani