| Methods |
3‐ to 5‐week placebo run‐in; inclusion criteria= patients with isolated systolic hypertension, defined as mean sitting SBP =/> 160 mm Hg and mean sitting DBP < 90 mm Hg at 3 consecutive run‐in visits; 13‐week total double‐blind treatment, 6‐week titration phase (week 0‐6), 3‐week monotherapy maintenance phase, and 4‐week combination therapy phase; patients initially received eprosartan 600 mg or matched placebo once daily, non‐responders titrated to eprosartan 1200 mg after 3 weeks. |
| Participants |
Eprosartan 600 mg: n=148(67 males,81 females); mean age=69.8(7.3) years; baseline sitting SBP=171(9.7) mm Hg, DBP=83.4(4.9) mm Hg, HR=73.0(7.3) bpm;
Placebo: n=135(60 males,75 females); mean age=70.4(7.0) years; baseline sitting SBP=170(9.3) mm Hg, DBP=82.7(5.8) mm Hg, HR=74.2(8.1) bpm |
| Interventions |
Eprosartan 600 mg once daily;
Placebo;
taken in the morning |
| Outcomes |
Mean change from baseline in trough sitting SBP using mercury sphygmomanometer |
| Notes |
Used week 3 SBP data only; BP change reported, SE of change reported, endpoint BP and SD not reported, baseline SD reported but not appropriate; calculated SD from SE and N, SBP data from Figure 2, p. 658; Jadad score=4; funding source= SmithKlineBeecham |
| Risk of bias |
| Bias |
Authors' judgement |
Support for judgement |
| Allocation concealment? |
Unclear risk |
B ‐ Unclear |
