A postmarketing surveillance evaluation of quinapril in 3742 Canadian hypertensive patients: the ACCEPT Study. Accupril Canadian Clinical Evaluation and Patient Teaching.

The Accupril Canadian Clinical Evaluation and Patient Teaching (ACCEPT) study was a multicenter, 6-month, open-label, postmarketing surveillance study where the efficacy and safety of quinapril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, was evaluated in a general population of patients with essential hypertension. Participating physicians followed their normal office procedures for the initiation of quinapril therapy (a dose of 10 mg QD in the majority of cases). The dose was titrated to blood pressure response, generally at 2-week intervals, for a maintenance dose of 10 mg QD to 20 mg QD in most cases (86% at 6 months) and not to exceed 40 mg QD. The use of concomitant antihypertensive medications was left to the discretion of the physician. By random assignment, physicians obtained patient informed consent on either a detailed form that listed possible quinapril side effects or a less specific form, which did not list particular side effects. The purpose of using two different forms was to assess any potential association between the frequency of adverse-event reporting and patient's awareness of quinapril side effects. The patients also received an educational package that provided general information on hypertension and lifestyle modifications known to reduce cardiovascular risk factors. An intent-to-treat analysis included data from 3742 patients in whom the median age was 56 years and the median duration of hypertension was 5 years. The demographic characteristics of these patients were similar to those identified in Canadian hypertensive patients in a recent population-based survey. Nearly 80% of the ACCEPT study patients had more than one cardiovascular risk factor, in addition to hypertension. Among 2979 patients receiving quinapril at 3 months, 77% were stabilized. Among 2517 patients continuing to receive quinapril at 6 months, 84% were stabilized. Greater declines in both diastolic and systolic blood pressures were evident among patients who continued to receive quinapril as part of an antihypertensive regimen than among those who discontinued quinapril treatment. Blood pressure responses to quinapril were similar in newly diagnosed patients and those with a history of hypertension. A total of 980 patients (26.2%) reported one or more adverse events. Cough was most frequently reported and was deemed as definitely related to quinapril therapy by the treating physician in 3.6% of cases. Serious adverse events occurred in 55 patients (1.5%) and were assessed as possibly related to quinapril in only three patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)