A randomized-controlled trial compared the practical efficacy of olmesartan with azilsartan in 84 patients treated with conventional ARBs for more than 3 months. These patients were randomly allocated to receive either 20 mg of olmesartan (olmesartan medoxomil, OL group) or 20 mg of azilsartan (azilsartan, AZ group) OD for 16 weeks. The practical efficacy on blood pressure (BP) was compared between the two groups.

Office BP decreased significantly in both the groups (OL group: 152/86-141/79 mmHg; AZ group: 149/83-135/75 mmHg). Diastolic home BP showed significant reduction in the AZ group (79±9-74±7 mmHg), but not in the OL group (79±11-75±10 mmHg). The dosage of olmesartan and azilsartan increased significantly and slightly for 16 weeks (OL group: 20.3-23.1 mg; AZ group: 20.5-23.2 mg), with no significant difference between groups. There were no significant differences in renal function, lipid profiles, brain natriuretic peptide, soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1, and urinary L-type fatty acid-binding protein between the two groups.

It was concluded that both the drugs equally reduced BP levels. Both the drugs exhibited a renoprotective effect and were well tolerated. The findings were published in Blood Pressure Monitoring.