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Fixed-dose combination therapy in pulmonary arterial hypertension: Pros & cons
Giovanna Manzi1, Tommaso Recchioni1, Roberto Badagliacca1
1Department of Clinical, Anesthesiological and Cardiovascular Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy.
None:
Quality of life of patients suffering from chronic diseases is inevitably conditioned by the number of pills taken during the day. To improve patients' tolerability, compliance and quality of life and reduce healthcare costs, pharmaceutical companies are focusing on the commercialization of fixed-dose combination (FDC) therapies. The last ESC/ERS guidelines for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) recommend initial dual combination therapy for newly diagnosed patients at low or intermediate mortality risk. In this regard, polypills including an endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA) and a phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor (PDE5-i) could represent an useful therapeutic strategy, although with some limitations. To date, evidence about the use of FDCs in PAH is limited but future studies evaluating their safety and efficacy are welcome.
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