New Tamsulosin Use Is Associated with Severe Hypotension

The α-blocker tamsulosin relieves lower urinary tract symptoms caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by relaxing periurethral smooth muscle. However, α-blockers also can lower vascular resistance and potentially cause hypotension. Using a large healthcare-claims database, investigators in the U.S. and Canada assessed risk for hypotension requiring hospital admission (“severe hypotension”) among 324,000 men (mean age, 62) with BPH who were new users of tamsulosin (median duration of use, 14 weeks).

The rate of hypotensive events was higher among new tamsulosin users (42 events per 10,000 person-years) than among a control group of new users of 5α-reductase inhibitors, such as finasteride (31 events per 10,000 person-years). A significa…