Comparison of effects of enalapril and captopril on serum potassium concentration in the treatment of malignant hypertension

✍ Scribed by Takuya Tsuchihashi; Isao Abe; Akira Tsukashima; Kazuo Kobayashi; Michio Ueno; Masatoshi Fujishima

• Publisher: Springer US
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 375 KB
• Volume: 6
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0920-3206
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00055607

✦ Synopsis

To compare the effects of enalapril and captopril on blood pressure, serum creatinine (S-Cr), and potassium (S-K) levels, patients with malignant hypertension treated with either 5-10 mg of enalapril (eight cases) or 75-400 mg of captopril (eight cases) were investigated retrospectively. After 2 weeks of treatment, the average blood pressure fell from 214/138 to 132/89 mmHg on enalapril and from 240/145 to 147/95 mmHg on captoprii. The percent change in mean blood pressure during the 2 weeks of treatment with enalapril ( -3 5 . 6 -+ 4.0 SE%) was similar to that with captopril ( -3 5 . 8 -e 2.8%). S-Cr did not change in both groups, while S-K increased significantly from 3.9 -0.2 to 5.2 -+ 0.2 mEq/l on enalapril and from 3.6 -+ 0.2 to 4.2 -+ 0.1 mEq/l on captopril. S-K at the second week was significantly higher in the enalapril than in the captopril group. The maximum S-Cr concentration during the treatment was correlated with the corresponding S-K concentration similarly in both groups. These results indicate that both enalapril and captopril increase S-K without deterioration of renal function in patients with malignant hypertension and that the way these drugs are used in clinical practice may be more likely to result in elevated S-K with enalapril.