Pharmaceutica Analytica Acta

Abstract

Allopurinol, is the Next General Drug for Chronic Heart Failure? A Review Based on 19 Clinical Trials

Yan Chen, Wei Zhu, Ting Jiang, Weiwei Wang, Chunyu Li, Baoli Zhu, Bing Gu, Jinsong Zhang and Zhijun Han

Introduction: Allopurinol, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, has been reported to have therapeutic value in patients with chronic heart failure, besides its routine effect of decreasing uric acid level. Objective: To better understand the evidence of the treatment effects with allopurinol in patients with chronic heart failure. Methods: We searched Pubmed for clinical trials published between January 2001 and November 2014, based on which, a review was performed to determine whether allopurinol could benefit patients with chronic heart failure. Information of patient characteristics, treatment administration and main evaluation end-points was taken into consideration when assessing the therapeutic effects. Results: Out of 18 articles, 19 clinical trials were included. In most studies, the relevant signs, symptoms, laboratory and other special tests of chronic heart failure were observed to change better with the treatment of allopurinol, yet they failed to draw definite conclusions as the existence of some negative ones affected the consistency of the results. Conclusion: Allopurinol is ought to be helpful to patients with chronic heart failure. But more high-quality studies are required for its better use.