Prehospital use of nifedipine for severe hypertension

Hypertensive Emergencies in the Ambulance: Characteristics, Clinical Presentations and Complications - A Prospective Cohort Study

Background

The objective of this study is to describe the characteristics of hypertensive emergencies in Kuwait aiming to provide a preliminary background to update the current guidelines and improve patients’ management.

Methods

This is a prospective analysis of hypertensive emergency cases retrieved from emergency medical services (EMS) archived data between 1 January – 30 June 2020. Collected variables included patient characteristics, clinical presentations, vital signs, interventions, and complications. Outcome variable collected was: en route complications.

Results

Hypertensive emergency prevalence in Kuwait is 4.75 per 100,000. Most were non-Kuwaiti (62%) males (59%) with a mean age of 57 ±14 years. Most hypertensive emergency cases occurred at home (62%). The hypertensive emergency BP threshold was; SBP 182 (SD=31) and diastolic BP (DBP) 108 (SD=18). 36% of hypertensive emergency cases had silent hypertension. 67% of hypertensive emergencies were verified using ambulance verification tools. Nitroglycerin was administered to only hypertensive emergencies suspected to have acute coronary syndrome or acute heart failure (50%). Complications were seen in 9.5% of hypertensive emergency cases.

Conclusion

Hypertensive emergency is rare in the ambulance but can progress into a serious situation. One in every 10 hypertensive emergency cases will require en route resuscitation. Hypertensive emergencies should be recognized and managed within their clinical context. The most common clinical presentation of hypertensive emergency is cardiac chest pain. Some pre-hospital verification tools confirm acute HMOD. Further research is required to establish hypertension emergency recognition and management guidelines in the prehospital setting.

Oral Enalapril-Hydrochlorothiazide-Methyldopa as First Line Treatment for Severe Hypertension in Nigerians

A combination of low-dose oral enalapril, methyldopa and hydrochlorothiazide was evaluated in the acute treatment of severe hypertension. Blood pressure moved from an average 210/120 mmHg at the onset to an average 135/79 mmHg within 24 hours, without any significant side effects and at about half the cost of commonly used parenteral hydralazine.

A Survey of Advanced Life Support Practices in the United States

Study Objective:

A national survey was conducted to determine the sponsorship of emergency medical services (EMS) projects, composition of EMS advanced life support (ALS) teams, types of medications and equipment carried, and procedures approved for use by EMS systems in the United States.

Methods:

A mail survey was sent to 211 training supervisors of EMS services across the United States in 1989. The survey requested demographic and service-related information, including types of EMS sponsorship, composition of ALS teams, medications and equipment carried, and procedures which personnel have been trained to use. Medications carried were correlated with advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) recommended drug lists, and with the sponsoring agency.

Results:

One-hundred seventy (70%) survey forms were returned. The major providers of ALS in the United States are fire departments (36%), followed by private providers (26%), hospitals (22%), and local governments (16%). The most common ALS team composition was two paramedics followed by one paramedic and one emergency medical technician (EMT). Most ALS services carry all of the recommended ACLS medications; a much smaller percentage carry all of the drugs recommended by ACEP. Fire department based ALS units carried the least number of medications; hospital-based ALS units carried the highest number of medications. Combined, over 80 different medications were carried by the services responding to the survey.

Conclusion:

The use of ACLS drugs and procedures are well-established nation-wide; less accepted are the medications recommended by ACEP. While over 80 different medications are carried by the EMS systems that responded to this survey, only a small fraction have been investigated in the prehospital setting.

Oral drugs for hypertensive urgencies: systematic review and meta-analysis

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE

Hypertensive urgencies are defined as severe elevations in blood pressure without evidence of acute or progressive target-organ damage. The need for treatment is considered urgent but allows for slow control using oral or sublingual drugs. If the increase in blood pressure is not associated with risk to life or acute target-organ damage, blood pressure control must be implemented slowly over 24 hours. For hypertensive urgencies, it is not known which class of antihypertensive drug provides the best results and there is controversy regarding when to use antihypertensive drugs and which ones to use in these situations. The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness and safety of oral drugs for hypertensive urgencies.

METHODS

This systematic review of the literature was developed at the Brazilian Cochrane Center, and in the Discipline of Emergency Medicine and Evidence-Based Medicine at the Universidade Federal de São Paulo - Escola Paulista de Medicina (Unifesp-EPM), in accordance with the methodology of the Cochrane Collaboration.

RESULTS

Sixteen randomized clinical trials including 769 participants were selected. They showed that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors had a superior effect in treating hypertensive urgencies, evaluated among 223 participants. The commonest adverse event for calcium channel blockers were headache (35/206), flushing (17/172) and palpitations (14/189). For angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, the principal side effect was bad taste (25/38).

CONCLUSIONS

There is important evidence in favor of the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors for treating hypertensive urgencies, compared with calcium channel blockers, considering the better effectiveness and the lower frequency of adverse effects (like headache and flushing).

Oral antihypertensives for hypertensive urgencies

OBJECTIVE

To review the data describing the use of oral antihypertensive agents in the treatment of hypertensive urgencies (HU).

DATA SOURCES

A MEDLINE search of the English-language literature and fan searches of papers evaluating oral antihypertensives in HUs and emergencies were conducted.

STUDY SELECTION

Controlled and uncontrolled studies in humans are reviewed. Emphasis was placed on recent trials evaluating individual agents and comparative trials.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Comparative trials have demonstrated that four currently available oral agents can lower blood pressure rapidly and predictably. Nifedipine, the most extensively studied, and clonidine have served traditionally as the oral agents of choice for the treatment of HUs. All the agents can lower blood pressure effectively within the first few hours after dosing, but their use also has been associated with adverse effects. Nifedipine and captopril are the two agents with the most rapid onset, within 0.5-1 hour, and may treat hypertensive emergencies as well as urgencies. Clonidine and labetalol have maximal blood pressure lowering effects at 2-4 hours.

CONCLUSIONS

Captopril, clonidine, labetalol, and nifedipine are all effective agents for the treatment of HUs. Agent selection should be based on the perceived need for urgent blood pressure control, the cause of HU, and concomitant conditions. A definite benefit from acute blood pressure lowering in HUs has yet to be demonstrated, especially in asymptomatic patients. More controlled trials with less aggressive dosing regimens and placebo controls need to be performed to assess the most appropriate treatment for HUs with the fewest adverse effects.