Abstract:
Objective To evaluate the effect of fixed combination of valsartan-amlodipine on primary hypertension for providing reference for the rational drug use.
Method Comprehensive searches published from 1997 through 2017 were performed via Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang Database, and VIP Database with the key words of hypertension, fixed-dose combination, fixed combination, valsartan, and amlodipine. Trials of fixed combination of valsartan-amlodipine selection, data extraction, quality assessment were conducted according to Cochrane review standards and data analyses were conducted using RevMan 5.3 software.
Findings Totally 25 studies involving 23761 patients on the effect of fixed combination of valsartan-amlodipine on primary hypertension were finally included. The effect of fixed combination of valsartan-amlodipine was better than that of the control group (90.62% vs. 75.58%, pooled odds ratio OR = 2.98, 95 % confidence interval (2.02 – 4.40), P < 0.001), but the incidence of adverse drug reactions was higher than that of the control group 17.58 % vs. 16.50 %, pooled OR = 0.66, 95 % CI (0.50 – 0.87, P = 0.003)
Conclusions The fixed combination of valsartan-amlodipine is more effective than other medication for the treatment of primary hypertension but education on adverse drug reactions should be promoted in its clinical application. The study provides evidences for rational drug use and drug policy development.