Nitrates as first line treatment for acute left ventricular failure
Date First Published:
March 1, 2000
Last Updated:
April 17, 2001
Report by:
Annette Johnson, Specialist Registrar (Manchester STEM)
Search checked by:
Kevin Mackway-Jones, Manchester STEM
Three-Part Question:
In [patients with acute left ventricular failure] is [frusemide better than nitrates] at [reducing symptoms and avoiding the need for intubation]?
Clinical Scenario:
An 80-year old man is brought into the Emergency Department in the early hours of the morning with acute shortness of breath. He is pale, clammy and very distressed. You diagnose acute left ventricular failure. You have heard that frusemide may increase vascular resistance and wonder whether nitrates should be used instead.
Search Strategy:
Medline 1966-09/00 using the OVID interface.
Search Details:
([exp heart failure, congestive OR exp ventricular dysfunction, left OR left ventricular failure.mp OR exp pulmonary edema OR pulmonary edema.mp OR pulmonary oedema.mp] AND [nitrate$.mp OR exp nitroglycerin OR nitroglycerin.mp OR gtn.mp OR glyceryl trinitrate.mp OR exp isosorbide dinitrate OR isosorbide dinitrate.mp OR isosorbide mononitrate.mp] AND [exp furosemide OR furosemide.mp OR frusemide.mp OR exp bumetanide OR bumetanide.mp OR exp diuretics OR loop diuretic$.mp]) LIMIT to human AND english.
Outcome:
116 papers found of which 112 were irrelevant or of insufficient quality. The remaining 4 papers are shown in the table.
Relevant Paper(s):
| Study Title | Patient Group | Study type (level of evidence) | Outcomes | Key results | Study Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haemodynamic advantages of isosorbide dinitrate over frusemide in acute heart failure following myocardial infarction Nelson GI, Silke B, Ahuja RC et al. 1983 | 28 men with radiographic and haemodynamic evidence of left ventricular failure following acute myocardial infarction Frusemide (1 mg/kg) vs Isosorbide dinitrate (50 - 200 micrograms/kg/h) |
PRCT | Left heart filling pressure | Fell with both | Small numbers |
| Cardiac output | Fell with frusemide, maintained with isosorbide | ||||
| Systematic blood pressure | Transiently rose with frusemide, fell with isosorbide | ||||
| First-line treatment of left ventricular failure complicating acute myocardial infarction: a randomised evaluation of immediate effects of diuretic, venodilator, arteriodilator, and positive inotropic Verma SP, Silke B, Hussain M et al. 1987 | 48 men with transmural myocardial infarction and a pulmonary artery wedge pressure over 20 mm Hg within 18h of admission to CCU Frusemide (12) vs isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) (12) vs hydralazine (12) vs prenalterol (12) |
PRCT | Pulmonary artery wedge pressure | Frusemide and ISDN reduced PAWP more than hydralazine and prenalterol | Small numbers |
| Cardiac index | Hydralazine and prenalterol increase cardiac index by increasing heart rate | ||||
| Randomised trial of high-dose isosorbide dinitrate plus low-dose furosemide versus high-dose furosemide plus low-dose isosorbide dinitrate in severe pulmonary oedema. Cotter G, Metzkor E, Kaluski E et al. 1998, Israel. | 110 patients with acute severe pulmonary oedema. All treated with oxygen at 10 l/min and frusemide 40 mg. Isosorbide dinitrate 3mg every 5 min (56) vs frusemide 80mg every 15 min and isosorbide dinitrate 1mg/h (54). |
PRCT | Need for mechanical ventilation | 7/52 vs 21/52 (P=0.0041) | Important group of patients were excluded |
| Nitrate therapy is an alternative to furosemide/morphine therapy in the management of acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema Beltrame JF, Zeitz CJ, Unger SA et al. 1998, Australia. | 59 consecutive patients with acute pulmonary oedema. iv morphine / frusemide (32) vs iv nitroglycerin / N-acetylcysteine (37) |
PRCT | Change in PaO2 and FIO2 over the first 60 minutes. | No significant difference | Small numbers |
| Need for mechanical ventilatory assistance | No significant difference |
Author Commentary:
There are still no large trials looking directly at this question. The majority of this work was carried out on patients with recent myocardial infarction.
Bottom Line:
Nitrates have some benefit as the first-line pharmacological treatment of acute pulmonary oedema.
References:
- Nelson GI, Silke B, Ahuja RC et al.. Haemodynamic advantages of isosorbide dinitrate over frusemide in acute heart failure following myocardial infarction
- Verma SP, Silke B, Hussain M et al.. First-line treatment of left ventricular failure complicating acute myocardial infarction: a randomised evaluation of immediate effects of diuretic, venodilator, arteriodilator, and positive inotropic
- Cotter G, Metzkor E, Kaluski E et al.. Randomised trial of high-dose isosorbide dinitrate plus low-dose furosemide versus high-dose furosemide plus low-dose isosorbide dinitrate in severe pulmonary oedema.
- Beltrame JF, Zeitz CJ, Unger SA et al.. Nitrate therapy is an alternative to furosemide/morphine therapy in the management of acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema