Comparative assessment of efficacy and safety of ambrisentan and bosentan in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension: A meta-analysis.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Two endothelin receptor antagonists, ambrisentan and bosentan, have been demonstrated to be effective individually compared with placebo in the treatment of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This network meta-analysis compared the efficacy and safety of ambrisentan and bosentan in patients with PAH. METHODS: Clinical trials were identified from the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL/CCTR), EMBASE and PubMed databases. Weighted mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for continuous outcomes (6-min walk distance [6MWD] and Borg dyspnoea index [BDI]). Hazard ratio (HR) was calculated for binary outcomes, including clinical worsening, discontinuation due to adverse events (AEs) and liver dysfunction. Surface under cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) was used to rank the treatments in each index. RESULTS: Five clinical trials from four published studies (total patients: n = 920) were included. Ambrisentan and bosentan showed no significant difference in 6MWD (MD: -1.32; 95% CI: -27.87, 25.31, SUCRA score: ambrisentan 0.73, bosentan 0.77), BDI (MD: -0.16; 95% CI: -0.98, 0.65, SUCRA score: ambrisentan 0.83, bosentan 0.66), clinical worsening (HR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.33, 2.94, SUCRA score: ambrisentan 0.75, bosentan 0.74) and discontinuation due to AEs (HR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.11, 5.86, SUCRA score: ambrisentan 0.47, bosentan 0.57). However, ambrisentan was significantly better than bosentan with respect to abnormal liver function (HR: 23.18; 95% CI: 2.24, 377.20, SUCRA score: ambrisentan 0.99, bosentan 0.02). WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: The results of this network meta-analysis suggest that ambrisentan was similar to bosentan in efficacy, while it exhibited better tolerability with respect to abnormal liver function in comparison with bosentan, in patients with PAH.

Longitudinal Assessment of the Effect of Atrasentan on Thoracic Bioimpedance in Diabetic Nephropathy: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Fluid retention is a common adverse event in patients who receive endothelin (ET) receptor antagonist therapy, including the highly selective ETA receptor antagonist, atrasentan. OBJECTIVE: We performed longitudinal assessments of thoracic bioimpedance in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and nephropathy to determine whether a decrease in bioimpedance accurately reflected fluid retention during treatment with atrasentan. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 48 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and nephropathy who were receiving stable doses of renin angiotensin system inhibitors and diuretics. METHODS: Patients were randomized 1:1:1 to placebo, atrasentan 0.5 mg, or atrasentan 1.25 mg once daily for 8 weeks. Thoracic bioimpedance, vital signs, clinical exams, and serologies were taken at weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8, with the exception of serum hemoglobin, which was not taken at week 1, and serum brain natriuretic peptide, which was only taken at baseline, week 4, and week 8. RESULTS: Alterations in bioimpedance were more often present in those who received atrasentan than in those who received placebo, though overall differences were not statistically significant. Transient declines in thoracic bioimpedance during the first 2 weeks of atrasentan exposure occurred before or during peak increases in body weight and hemodilution (decreased serum hemoglobin). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that thoracic bioimpedance did not reflect changes in weight gain or edema with atrasentan treatment in this study. However, the sample size was small, and it may be of interest to explore the use of thoracic bioimpedance in a larger population to understand its potential clinical use in monitoring fluid retention in patients with chronic kidney disease who receive ET receptor antagonists.

Informe de evaluación rápida de tecnología sobre seguridad y efectividad de bosentán para hipertensión arterial pulmonar / Rapid evaluation report of technology on safety and effectiveness of bosentan for pulmonary arterial hypertension

La hipertensión pulmonar arterial (HPA) es una enfermedad rara, con una prevalencia de aproximadamente 15 a 50 casos por millón. Es de mayor prevalencia en ciertos grupos, como por ejemplo, pacientes infectados con VIH, pacientes con esclerosis múltiple, con enfermedad sickle cell, entre otros. No existe mucha información al respecto en Latinoamérica. La incidencia de esta enfermedad es de aproximadamente 2.4 casos por millón de habitantes (según información mexicana). En Argentina han calculado en base a información internacional - 1 a 2 casos por millón de habitantes - que existen entre 600 a 2000 pacientes con la enfermedad a un promedio de 90 a 300 casos nuevos por año. En Chile se acoge a la incidencia de 1-2 pacientes nuevos por millón de habitantes por año. Actualización en el diagnóstico y terapéutica en hipertensión pulmonar arterial. La HPA afecta con mayor frecuencia a las mujeres en una relación 1,7:1 y, comúnmente, se expresa en la cuarta década de la vida. Debido a lo poco específico de sus síntomas, desafortunadamente la mayoría de los diagnósticos se dan en estadios avanzados de la enfermedad (III y IV). El diagnóstico habitualmente es efectuado entre 18 y 24 meses posteriores al inicio de los síntomas, debido al carácter inespecífico de ellos, tales como disnea, fatiga o dolor torácico, de modo que es frecuente pesquisar enfermos con severa limitación funcional y estrecho margen terapéutico. La terapia con bosentán mejora los síntomas y hemodinamia en pacientes con hipertensión pulmonar aguda. Se recomienda cubrir con restricciones.(AU)