The incidence of cough: a comparison of lisinopril, placebo and telmisartan, a novel angiotensin II antagonist. Telmisartan Cough Study Group.

Dry cough is a troublesome side-effect associated with certain antihypertensive agents that act by modulating aspects of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. The incidence of dry cough associated with two of these therapies, the novel All receptor antagonist telmisartan and the ACE inhibitor lisinopril, was assessed in a multicentre, randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 8-week study of 88 patients with mild to moderate hypertension who previously demonstrated ACE inhibitor-related cough. Patients received either telmisartan 80 mg, lisinopril 20 mg, or placebo once daily. Cough incidence, measured at each visit by a self-administered symptom assessment questionnaire, was significantly higher with lisinopril (60%) than with telmisartan (15.6%) or placebo (9.7%). A visual analogue scale demonstrated a similar trend for cough frequency. Thus the incidence of cough with telmisartan 80 mg is significantly less than that seen with lisinopril 20 mg and is comparable to placebo.