Safety profile of tolterodine as used in general practice in England: results of prescription-event monitoring.
Drug Saf
; 24(9): 703-13, 2001.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-11522122
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Unstable bladder symptoms are a common problem in general practice. Drug therapy with anticholinergic drugs is frequently used in the management of this condition. However such drugs are associated with a high incidence of anticholinergic adverse effects. Tolterodine is a competitive anticholinergic agent, selective for the bladder as opposed to the salivary glands.OBJECTIVE:
To monitor the safety of tolterodine as used in general practice patients in England for the treatment of urinary frequency, urgency and incontinence.DESIGN:
Prospective observational cohort study. PATIENTS ANDPARTICIPANTS:
14,526 patients [mean age 62.7 (SD 16.4) years; 68.6% female].METHODS:
Patients prescribed tolterodine in general practice, soon after the release of the drug in the UK, were followed up for a minimum of 6 months using the technique of prescription-event monitoring (PEM).RESULTS:
The most common adverse events reported were dry mouth, headache, malaise, constipation, dyspepsia, nausea and vomiting and pain in abdomen. We identified some uncommon events as possible adverse drug reactions--notably hallucinations, tachycardia and palpitations. The prevalence of these events was compared with that in patient cohorts for other drugs on the PEM database. The age- and sex-adjusted relative risk of hallucinations on tolterodine compared with 10 drugs of other therapeutic classes, and with terodiline, another drug indicated for bladder instability, was 4.85 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.72 to 8.66] and 1.25 (95% CI 0.62 to 2.53), respectively. There was no significant difference for tachycardia/palpitation in this comparison.CONCLUSIONS:
Tolterodine is well tolerated in general practice at the recommended daily dose. Hallucinations, tachycardia and palpitations are infrequently associated with the drug.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Phenylpropanolamine
/
Urologic Diseases
/
Benzhydryl Compounds
/
Drug Monitoring
/
Muscarinic Antagonists
/
Cresols
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
Drug Saf
Journal subject:
TERAPIA POR MEDICAMENTOS
/
TOXICOLOGIA
Year:
2001
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United kingdom