[Modification of pulmonary hypertension in patients with chronic obstructive lung diseases by trapidil (Rocornal) in an acute trial].

Acute effects of Trapidil (Rocornal, Deutsches Hydrierwerk Rodleben) on pulmonary hemodynamics were studied in 47 patients. A marked decrease of pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance and of right ventricular stroke work at rest and during exercise in different degrees of severity of pulmonary hypertension was shown. Especially the influence on stable pulmonary hypertension is of interest, but there was no statistical significance during exercise because of the small number of patients. Considerable objective or/and subjective side effects were not noticed. Possible multifactorial mechanisms of these effects including the left ventricular function and the role of prostaglandins are discussed. The effect of trapidil is compared with other investigated pulmonary vasodilators, such as nitrates and nifedipine. Because of hitherto there are no other studies with Rocornal in patients with COPD, further acute studies and placebo controlled long term studies with monitoring of pulmonary hemodynamic are necessary. Than it will be possible to clarify the role of trapidil in therapeutical concepts of pulmonary hypertension.