[The effects of long-term captopril treatment on the evolution of urinary albumin excretion in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus]. / Efectos del tratamiento a largo plazo con captopril sobre la evolución de la excreción urinaria de albúmina en pacientes con diabetes mellitus no insulinodependiente.

OBJECTIVES: To identify diabetics not dependent on insulin (DNDI) who are carriers of clinical proteinuria and microalbuminuria susceptible to captopril treatment and to evaluate the evolution of the urinary excretion of albumin (UEA) rate after three years of follow-up. DESIGN: A prevalence study followed by an intervention and follow-up over 3 years. SETTING: The urban Health Centre "San Agustín" in Burgos. PATIENTS: 107 DNDI included in the "Diabetes programme". INTERVENTIONS: Patients with increased UEA were treated with 25 mg of captopril (Capoten) every 12 hours for 3 years. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: A steady drop in the UEA of patients with microalbuminuria was observed in their third year of treatment (p = 0.01). 5 patients (41.6%) became negative (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Captopril treatment reduced levels of UEA in DNDI who had high UEA. Significantly, evolution to clinical proteinuria of patients with persistent microalbuminuria was avoided.