Quinapril Hydrochloride/Hydrochlorothiazide

QUINAPRIL HYDROCHLORIDE/HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE- quinapril hydrochloride and hydrochlorothiazide tablet, film coated
Lake Erie Medical DBA Quality Care Products LLC

WARNING: FETAL TOXICITY

  • When pregnancy is detected, discontinue quinapril hydrochloride/hydrochlorothiazide as soon as possible.
  • Drugs that act directly on the renin-angiotensin system can cause injury and death to the developing fetus. See WARNINGS: Fetal Toxicity.

DESCRIPTION

Quinapril hydrochloride/hydrochlorothiazide is a fixed-combination tablet that combines an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, quinapril hydrochloride, and a thiazide diuretic, hydrochlorothiazide. Quinapril hydrochloride is chemically described as [3S-[2[R*(R*)], 3R*]]-2-[2-[[1-(ethoxycarbonyl)-3-phenylpropyl]amino]-1-oxopropyl]-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-3-isoquinolinecarboxylic acid, monohydrochloride. Its molecular formula is C25 H30 N2 O5 . HCl and its structural formula is:

Quinapril Hydrochloride Chemical Structure
(click image for full-size original)


Quinapril hydrochloride USP is a white to off-white amorphous powder that is freely soluble in aqueous solvents.Hydrochlorothiazide is chemically described as: 6-Chloro-3,4-dihydro-2H-1,2,4-benzothiadiazine-7-sulfonamide 1,1-dioxide. Its molecular formula is C7 H8 CIN3 O4 S2 and its structural formula is:

Hydrochlorothiazide Chemical Structure
(click image for full-size original)


Hydrochlorothiazide USP is a white to off-white, crystalline powder which is slightly soluble in water but freely soluble in sodium hydroxide solution.
Quinapril hydrochloride/hydrochlorothiazide is available for oral use as fixed combination tablets in three strengths of quinapril with hydrochlorothiazide: 10 mg with 12.5 mg (quinapril hydrochloride/hydrochlorothiazide 10/12.5), 20 mg with 12.5 mg (quinapril hydrochloride/hydrochlorothiazide 20/12.5), and 20 mg with 25 mg (quinapril hydrochloride/hydrochlorothiazide20/25). The strength of the quinapril hydrochloride component is in terms of quinapril. Inactive ingredients: lactose monohydrate, magnesium carbonate, crospovidone, povidone, magnesium stearate, hypromellose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, polyethylene glycol 400, titanium dioxide, iron oxide red and iron oxide yellow.

CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY

Mechanism of Action
The principal metabolite of quinapril, quinaprilat, is an inhibitor of ACE activity in human subjects and animals. ACE is peptidyl dipeptidase that catalyzes the conversion of angiotensin I to the vasoconstrictor, angiotensin II. The effect of quinapril in hypertension appears to result primarily from the inhibition of circulating and tissue ACE activity, thereby reducing angiotensin II formation. Quinapril inhibits the elevation in blood pressure caused by intravenously administered angiotensin I, but has no effect on the pressor response to angiotensin II, norepinephrine, or epinephrine. Angiotensin II also stimulates the secretion of aldosterone from the adrenal cortex, thereby facilitating renal sodium and fluid reabsorption. Reduced aldosterone secretion by quinapril may result in a small increase in serum potassium. In controlled hypertension trials, treatment with quinapril alone resulted in mean increases in potassium of 0.07 mmol/L (see PRECAUTIONS). Removal of angiotensin II negative feedback on renin secretion leads to increased plasma renin activity (PRA).
While the principal mechanism of antihypertensive effect is thought to be through the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, quinapril exerts antihypertensive actions even in patients with low renin hypertension. Quinapril was an effective antihypertensive in all races studied, although it was somewhat less effective in blacks (usually a predominantly low renin group) than in non-blacks. ACE is identical to kininase II, an enzyme that degrades bradykinin, a potent peptide vasodilator; whether increased levels of bradykinin play a role in the therapeutic effect of quinapril remains to be elucidated.
Hydrochlorothiazide is a thiazide diuretic. Thiazides affect the renal tubular mechanisms of electrolyte reabsorption, directly increasing excretion of sodium and chloride in approximately equivalent amounts. Indirectly, the diuretic action of hydrochlorothiazide reduces plasma volume, with consequent increases in plasma renin activity, increases in aldosterone secretion, increases in urinary potassium loss, and decreases in serum potassium. The renin-aldolsterone link is mediated by angiotensin, so coadministration of an ACE inhibitor tends to reverse the potassium loss associated with these diuretics.
The mechanism of the antihypertensive effect of thiazides is unknown.
Pharmacokinetics and Metabolism
The rate and extent of absorption of quinapril and hydrochlorothiazide from quinapril hydrochloride/hydrochlorothiazide tablets are not different, respectively, from the rate and extent of absorption of quinapril and hydrochlorothiazide from immediate-release monotherapy formulations, either administered concurrently or separately. Following oral administration of quinapril monotherapy tablets, peak plasma quinapril concentrations are observed within 1 hour. Based on recovery of quinapril and its metabolites in urine, the extent of absorption is at least 60%. The absorption of hydrochlorothiazide is somewhat slower (1 to 2.5 hours) and more complete (50% to 80%).
The rate of quinapril absorption was reduced by 14% when quinapril hydrochloride/hydrochlorothiazide tablets were administered with a high-fat meal as compared to fasting, while the extent of absorption was not affected. The rate of hydrochlorothiazide absorption was reduced by 12% when quinapril hydrochloride/hydrochlorothiazide tablets were administered with a high-fat meal, while the extent of absorption was not significantly affected. Therefore, quinapril hydrochloride/hydrochlorothiazide may be administered without regard to food.
Following absorption, quinapril is deesterified to its major active metabolite, quinaprilat (about 38% of oral dose), and to other minor inactive metabolites. Following multiple oral dosing of quinapril, there is an effective accumulation half-life of quinaprilat of approximately 3 hours, and peak plasma quinaprilat concentrations are observed approximately 2 hours postdose. Approximately 97% of either quinapril or quinaprilat circulating in plasma is bound to proteins. Hydrochlorothiazide is not metabolized. Its apparent volume of distribution is 3.6 to 7.8 L/kg, consistent with measured plasma protein binding of 67.9%. The drug also accumulates in red blood cells, so that whole blood levels are 1.6 to 1.8 times those measured in plasma.
Some placental passage occurred when quinapril was administered to pregnant rats. Studies in rats indicate that quinapril and its metabolites do not cross the blood-brain barrier. Hydrochlorothiazide crosses the placenta freely but not the blood-brain barrier.
Quinaprilat is eliminated primarily by renal excretion, up to 96% of an IV dose, and has an elimination half-life in plasma of approximately 2 hours and a prolonged terminal phase with a half-life of 25 hours. Hydrochlorothiazide is excreted unchanged by the kidney. When plasma levels have been followed for at least 24 hours, the plasma half-life has been observed to vary between 4 to 15 hours. At least 61% of the oral dose is eliminated unchanged within 24 hours.
In patients with renal insufficiency, the elimination half-life of quinaprilat increases as creatinine clearance decreases. There is a linear correlation between plasma quinaprilat clearance and creatinine clearance. In patients with end-stage renal disease, chronic hemodialysis or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis have little effect on the elimination of quinapril and quinaprilat. Elimination of quinaprilat is reduced in elderly patients (≥65 years) and in those with heart failure; this reduction is attributable to decrease in renal function (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION). Quinaprilat concentrations are reduced in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis due to impaired deesterification of quinapril. In a study of patients with impaired renal function (mean creatinine clearance of 19 mL/min), the half-life of hydrochlorothiazide elimination was lengthened to 21 hours.
The pharmacokinetics of quinapril and quinaprilat are linear over a single-dose range of 5 to 80 mg doses and 40 to 160 mg in multiple daily doses.
Pharmacodynamics and Clinical Effects
Single doses of 20 mg of quinapril provide over 80% inhibition of plasma ACE for 24 hours. Inhibition of the pressor response to angiotensin I is shorter-lived, with a 20 mg dose giving 75% inhibition for about 4 hours, 50% inhibition for about 8 hours, and 20% inhibition at 24 hours. With chronic dosing, however, there is substantial inhibition of angiotensin II levels at 24 hours by doses of 20 to 80 mg.
Administration of 10 to 80 mg of quinapril to patients with mild to severe hypertension results in a reduction of sitting and standing blood pressure to about the same extent with minimal effect on heart rate. Symptomatic postural hypotension is infrequent, although it can occur in patients who are salt- and/or volume-depleted (see WARNINGS).
Antihypertensive activity commences within 1 hour with peak effects usually achieved by 2 to 4 hours after dosing. During chronic therapy, most of the blood pressure lowering effect of a given dose is obtained in 1 to 2 weeks. In multiple-dose studies, 10 to 80 mg per day in single or divided doses lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure throughout the dosing interval, with a trough effect of about 5 to 11/3 to 7 mm Hg. The trough effect represents about 50% of the peak effect.
While the dose-response relationship is relatively flat, doses of 40 to 80 mg were somewhat more effective at trough than 10 to 20 mg, and twice-daily dosing tended to give a somewhat lower trough blood pressure than once-daily dosing with the same total dose. The antihypertensive effect of quinapril continues during long-term therapy, with no evidence of loss of effectiveness.
Hemodynamic assessments in patients with hypertension indicate that blood pressure reduction produced by quinapril is accompanied by a reduction in total peripheral resistance and renal vascular resistance with little or no change in heart rate, cardiac index, renal blood flow, glomerular filtration rate, or filtration fraction.
Therapeutic effects of quinapril appear to be the same for elderly (≥65 years of age) and younger adult patients given the same daily dosages, with no increase in adverse events in elderly patients. In patients with hypertension, quinapril 10 to 40 mg was similar in effectiveness to captopril, enalapril, propranolol, and thiazide diuretics.
After oral administration of hydrochlorothiazide, diuresis begins within 2 hours, peaks in about 4 hours, and lasts about 6 to 12 hours. Use of quinapril with a thiazide diuretic gives blood pressure lowering effect greater than that seen with either agent alone. In clinical trials of quinapril/hydrochlorothiazide using quinapril doses of 2.5 to 40 mg and hydrochlorothiazide doses of 6.25 to 25 mg, the antihypertensive effects were sustained for at least 24 hours, and increased with increasing dose of either component. Although quinapril monotherapy is somewhat less effective in blacks than in non-blacks, the efficacy of combination therapy appears to be independent of race. By blocking the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axis, administration of quinapril tends to reduce the potassium loss associated with the diuretic. In clinical trials of quinapril hydrochloride/hydrochlorothiazide, the average change in serum potassium was near zero when 2.5 to 40 mg of quinapril was combined with hydrochlorothiazide 6.25 mg, and the average subject who received 10 to 20/12.5 to 25 mg experienced a milder reduction in serum potassium than that experienced by the average subject receiving the same dose of hydrochlorothiazide monotherapy.

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