Multicenter private practice comparison of tripamide and hydrochlorothiazide in the treatment of hypertension

One hundred fifty-nine patients with essential hypertension were randomly assigned to take 10 mg of tripamide or 50 mg of hydrochlorothiazide once a day for 12 weeks. Both drugs were equally effective in lowering both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the supine (6/5 vs. 5/5 mm Hg) and standing (8/5 vs 7/6 mm Hg) positions. Tripamide had less effect on serum potassium (0.2 vs. 0.6 mEq/L decrease) and serum uric acid (0.7 vs. 1.2 mg/dL increase) than hydrochlorothiazide. The addition of propranolol to either drug produced a further reduction in blood pressure. The overall incidence and spectrum of adverse reactions were the same for both drugs.