Sildenafil (Revatio) listed for pulmonary hypertension Sildenafil (Revatio) listed for pulmonary hypertension

Sildenafil (Revatio) was PBS listed on 1 March 2007 as a Section 100 hospital Authority-required item for the treatment of primary pulmonary hypertension or pulmonary hypertension associated with connective tissue disease in patients categorised as WHO functional class III. It has essentially the same restrictions as other drugs for this condition.¹

Pulmonary hypertension is much less common than systemic hypertension — the prevalence of severe pulmonary hypertension is 30-50 cases per million people.²

The recommended dose of sildenafil for pulmonary hypertension is 20 mg three times a day.³ In comparison, the sildenafil dose for erectile dysfunction is 25-100 mg as needed (no more than once daily).⁴

Revatio 20 mg tablets are white and round in shape, compared with Viagra 25 mg, 50 mg and 100 mg tablets, which are blue and diamond shaped.^3,4

References

1. Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. November 2006 positive recommendations. Canberra: Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, 2006. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/pbacrec-nov06-positive (accessed 23 January 2007).
2. Cardiovascular Writing Group. Therapeutic guidelines: Cardiovascular. Version 4. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Ltd, 2003.
3. Pfizer Australia Pty Ltd. Revatio product information. 7 August 2006.
4. Pfizer Australia Pty Ltd. Viagra product information. 17 October 2006.