NEWS BRIEFS
NEWS BRIEFS
Losartan inadvisable for angioedema patients
Until more is known about a possible adverse reaction to losartan (Merck’s Cozaar), it may be advisable not to prescribe angiotensin II antagonists for patients with a history of ACE-inhibitor-associated angioedema or patients hereditary or idiopathic angioedema. The angiotensin II antagonist losartan can cause angioedema, according to new trial findings.1
As of May 1997, drug safety officials in the Netherlands have received 13 reports of angioedema associated with the use of losartan, which was introduced there in 1995. The lagtime between the start of losartan therapy and the development of angioedema varied from less than 24 hours to 16 months, wrote investigators.
Most cases resolved after losartan was discontinued — without the need for epinephrine or corticosteroids. "It is important that swelling, particularly in . . . mouth and throat, is recognized as a possible adverse reaction to angiotensin II antagonists and ACE inhibitors," the authors emphasize. "[P]atients should be strongly advised to contact their physician immediately when any such swelling occurs."
Reference
1. Rijnsoever EW, Kwee-Zuiderwijk WJ, Feenstra J MD. Angioneurotic edema attributed to the use of losartan. Arch Intern Med 1998; 158:2,063-2,065.
New cardiac output monitor is noninvasive
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a noninvasive cardiac output monitor that may replace some invasive monitoring procedures. The device could also expand the use of monitoring to patients where the knowledge of cardiac output is important, but not worth the risk of an invasive procedure. The device manufactured by Wallingford, CN-based Novametrix measures cardiac output with carbon dioxide and airway flow sensors and a rebreathing circuit.
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