A multicenter comparison of adhesion, preference, tolerability, and safety characteristics of two transdermal...

One hundred forty-two patients with stable angina were enrolled in a four-week, multicenter, office-based study to compare the adhesion properties, patient preference, and tolerability of two commercially available transdermal nitroglycerin patches. Data from 139 patients were analyzed. Each patient simultaneously wore one 5-mg Transderm-Nitro (TDN) patch and one 5-mg Deponit (DPT) patch. Patients daily recorded the following information in a diary format: number of angina attacks, frequency of sublingual nitroglycerin use, patch adhesion, and problems at the adhesion site or other medical problems. At the end of the study, patients rated their patch preferences based on ease of application and removal, ease of removing backing, overall adhesion, and adhesion under specific conditions, such as showering, swimming, exercise, hot weather, high humidity, and perspiration. They also specified which patch they would choose for their next prescription. Differences in adhesion properties (P less than 0.0001) and tolerability at the site of application favored TDN over DPT. In addition, significantly more patients (P less than 0.0001) specified TDN as their next prescription choice (83% vs 11%).