Effectiveness and safety of captopril in Sudanese hypertensive patients

This study reports on the effectiveness, safety and acceptability of captopril in 36 Sudanese patients, who were classified as resistant, moderate to severe and mild according to initial diastolic blood pressure and history of treatment. The patients were titrated against a six-step captopril treatment regime with or without hydrochlorothiazide and reserpine. The median follow up period was 11.6 month. The initial median pre-treatment blood pressure was 159/101, 182/120 and 217/130 and at the end of study 125/77, 120/74 and 165/95 for the mild, severe and resistant groups respectively. Tolerance was good and side effects were mild and similar to others reported in literature. The effective daily treatment was 25-50 mg captopril for mild hypertension, 50 to 100 mg captopril with 50 mg hydrochlorothiazide for severe hypertension while it was 225 mg captopril with 50 to 100 mg hydrochlorothiazide and a need for a third drug in 30% of patients in the resistant group. These results reveal normal responsiveness to captopril among black Sudanese patients with good tolerance and safety.