Skin patches of a
clonidine transdermal therapeutic system (
clonidine-TTS) with a constant release rate of either 0.1 or 0.2 mg
clonidine/24 h continuously over 7 days were used in 32 essential hypertensives. These self-adhesive drug delivery systems (3.5 cm2), which were affixed to the upper outer arm, were changed by the patients at weekly intervals. During a mean observation period of 7 months (range 1-19 months) transdermal
clonidine reduced the blood pressure from 162 +/- 15/107 +/- 5 mmHg to normal values (diastolic less than or equal to 95 mmHg) in 63% of our patients. However, chronic use of
clonidine-TTS was accompanied by a high frequency of
contact dermatitis (type IV
allergy) in nearly half of our patients (n = 15, 47%). In 11 of these 15 patients transdermal
clonidine administration had to be stopped because of intolerable local skin reactions (
pruritus,
erythema, vesiculation, and/or infiltration). Subsequent patch testing with all components of
clonidine-TTS was performed in eight cases. Whereas in seven cases an
allergic contact dermatitis to
clonidine was found, only one patient showed an
allergy to another component of
clonidine-TTS (
polyisobutylene). We conclude that this strikingly high incidence of local allergic skin reactions limits the use of
clonidine-TTS in
essential hypertension.