Nicardipine versus nitroprusside for breakthrough hypertension following carotid endarterectomy

• Published in: Journal of clinical anesthesia Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 16 - 19
• Main Authors: Dorman, Todd, Thompson, David A, Breslow, Michael J, Lipsett, Pamela A, Rosenfeld, Brian A
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.02.2001; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Aged; Antihypertensive agents; Antihypertensive Agents - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Blood pressure; Blood Pressure - drug effects; Cardiovascular system; Double-Blind Method; Endarterectomy, Carotid; Female; Heart Rate - drug effects; Humans; hypertension; Hypertension - drug therapy; Intraoperative Complications - drug therapy; Male; Medical sciences; nicardipine; Nicardipine - therapeutic use; nitroprusside; Nitroprusside - therapeutic use; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Prospective Studies; vascular surgery; Blood pressure; nicardipine; nitroprusside; hypertension; vascular surgery; Human; Hypertension; Postoperative; Vasodilator agent; Calcium antagonist; Cardiovascular disease; Arterial disease; Vascular disease; Sodium nitroprusside; Chemotherapy; Nicardipine; Treatment; Carotid; Surgery; Antihypertensive agent; Complication; Dihydropyridine derivatives; Endarteriectomy; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0952-8180; 1873-4529
• DOI: 10.1016/S0952-8180(00)00231-2

Study Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of nicardipine and nitroprusside for breakthrough hypertension following carotid endarterectomy. Design: Prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled effectiveness trial. Setting: University-based surgical intensive care unit. Patients: 60 ASA physical status I, II, III, and IV patients experiencing breakthrough hypertension at the time of admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Interventions: Patients received either nicardipine (n = 29) and placebo or nitroprusside (n = 31) and placebo for up to 6 hours postoperatively. Loading doses of nicardipine were provided, but placebo was used as a load for patients randomized to nitroprusside. Measurements and Main Results: Rapidity and variability of blood pressure (BP) control were assessed. During the first 10 minutes, 83% of nicardipine patients compared to 23% of nitroprusside-treated patients, achieved BP control (p < 0.01). Following initial control, 12 nicardipine- and 24 nitroprusside-treated patients required additional titration of their infusions to maintain blood pressure within the targeted range (p < 0.05). No patient suffered a stroke, myocardial infarction, or was returned to the operating room (OR) for bleeding. Conclusions: Nicardipine administration produced more rapid BP control, most likely related to the administration of a loading dose. In addition to more rapid control, nicardipine-treated patients had less variability in BP and required significantly fewer additional interventions. Although no patient suffered a major event during this study, this study was not powered sufficiently to assess safety.