[Systematic review on the short-term efficacy and safety of nicorandil for stable angina pectoris in comparison with those of β-blockers, nitrates and calcium antagonists].

Abstract

Nicorandil significantly reducted the incidence of major coronary events in patients with stable angina in a long-term trial, although there are few reports on its short-term efficacy in the treatment and prevention of angina symptoms. We performed a meta-analysis of the short-term efficacy of nicorandil compared with antianginal drugs for stable angina. We selected 20 reports (vs. β-blockers, n=6; vs. nitrates, n=6; vs. calcium antagonists, n=8) of prospective controlled trials from MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, and Japana Centra Revuo Medicina. The trials were short in duration (median 5 weeks). We combined the results using odds ratios (OR) for discrete data and weighted mean differences (WMD) for continuous data. Compared with antianginal drugs, nicorandil did not show significant reduction of angina episodes per week (vs. β-blockers, -1.50 [95% confidence interval (CI): -4.09, 1.09]; vs. nitrates, 0.22 [95% CI: -1.22, 1.65]; vs. calcium antagonists, -0.23 [95% CI: -1.37, 0.90]). Furthermore, there were no significant differences in time to ischemia (total exercise duration, time to 1-mm ST depression, time to onset of pain). Although the total numbers of adverse events with each antianginal drug were similar, heart rate and blood pressure were significantly decreased by calcium antagonists but not changed by nicorandil (8.09 [95% CI: 3.20, 12.98] and 8.64 [95% CI: 3.28, 13.99], respectively). Thus this study suggests that short-term therapy with nicorandil is as effective as standard therapy and that nicorandil can also be used as a first-line agent in patients with stable angina.

• Authors: Yuki Hanai, Mitsuo Mita, Shigeru Hishinuma, Masaru Shoji
• Journal: Yakugaku zasshi : Journal of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan (Yakugaku Zasshi) Vol. 130 Issue 11 Pg. 1549-63 (Nov 2010) ISSN: 0031-6903 [Print] Japan
• PMID: 21048416 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article, Meta-Analysis, Systematic Review)

Chemical References

• Adrenergic beta-Antagonists
• Calcium Channel Blockers
• Nitrates
• Nicorandil

Topics

• Adrenergic beta-Antagonists (adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Angina Pectoris (drug therapy, physiopathology, prevention & control)
• Blood Pressure
• Calcium Channel Blockers (adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic
• Endpoint Determination
• Heart Rate
• Humans
• Nicorandil (adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Nitrates (adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Odds Ratio
• Prospective Studies