Real-World Experience of Midodrine in Hospital Setting in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a progressive disease, is characterized by increased pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and leads to right ventricular failure and premature death. PAH therapies aim to reduce PVR; however, these treatments as vasodilators may also result in reduced systemic vascular resistance and mean arterial pressure (MAP), leading to clinical or symptomatic hypotension. Low MAP can limit the administration of optimal dosage of PAH drugs. Midodrine, an oral alpha-1 adrenergic agonist, as a promising intervention, can potentially increase mean MAP and improve tolerance to PAH therapies.

Does the use of midodrine improve MAP and allow for simultaneous uptitration of PAH therapy while hospitalized?

A retrospective analysis of 433 patients treated at Houston Methodist Lung Center was undertaken between January 2005 and September 2022. Of these, 57 patients were prescribed midodrine during their hospital stay. We matched 57 patients 1:1 with propensity score matching between patients with PAH not given midodrine (control patients) based on age, sex, World Health Organization functional class, B-type natriuretic peptide, and 6-minute walk distance.

Among hospitalized patients with PAH, those receiving midodrine were more likely to undergo uptitration of their PAH medications compared with those not receiving midodrine (n = 30 vs n = 17, respectively; P < .05). Patients on midodrine during hospitalization received higher doses of epoprostenol (P < .001), treprostinil (P < .05), and selexipag (P < .05). Additionally, no adverse effects attributable to midodrine were reported.

This study, to our knowledge the first large-scale analysis of PAH data, investigated the use of midodrine in hospitalized patients with PAH. In this single-center study, we share real-world experience of using midodrine to mitigate systemic hypotension, thereby facilitating the uptitration of PAH-targeted therapies.