Dihydroergocristine surveillance in chronic cerebrovascular disease

A dihydroergocristine surveillance was carried out in 9,702 patients with chronic cerebrovascular disease given 6 mg daily for 40 days. A total of 788 Italian general practitioners took part in the study. From 75 to 85% of the patients had improvement or recovery. Blood pressure was reduced in hypertensive patients while it was unaffected in the normo- and hypotensive individuals. 4.8% of patients reported side effects but only 42 out of 9,702 patients dropped out, while in the others the side effects spontaneously disappeared during the treatment. Most adverse reactions were gastrointestinal (3.34%). More women than men complained of nausea, the difference being statistically significant. Other side effects concerned the central nervous system, skin and soft tissues, autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular system. Postural hypotension was reported in only 4 cases. Data suggest safety of dihydroergocristine in monitored use.