Usefulness of Nifedipine Granules for the Immediate Treatment of Systemic Hypertension; Comparison Between Sublingual and Oral Treatment in the Nifedipine Kinetic and Hypotensive Effect.

The nifedipine capsule is frequently administered by the sublingual route to provide a rapid effect, especially in patients who require an immediate reduction of an elevated blood pressure. However, many problems have also been reported in association with dispensing nifedipine capsules for the rapid management of systemic hypertension. In this study, 2 procedures of nifedipine administration for immediate treatment were evaluated regarding the efficacy and usefulness in a clinical setting.Nifedipine liquid (10 mg) was withdrawn from a capsule with a 1.0-mL syringe through an 18-gauge needle and then was administered sublingually to 7 patients. nifedipine granules (10mg) were administrated orally with a glass of water to 6 patients.The oral administration of fine granules provided higher serum levels of nifedipine with a more rapid onset than the sublingual administration of liquid in the first 30 min. In addition, the former administration technique also provided prompt and significant reduction of the systolic blood pressure, especially in patients with >170 mmHg systolic blood pressure.In conclusion, among the commercially available nifedipine products, nifedipine fine granules were found to be both easy to use and effective for immediate management of systemic hypertension with a rapid onset of action.