Rationale and design of the comparison of 3 combination therapies in lowering blood pressure in black Africans (CREOLE study): 2 × 3 factorial randomized single-blind multicenter trial

Background: Current hypertension guidelines recommend the use of combination therapy as first-line treatment or early in the management of hypertensive patients. Although there are many possible combinations of blood pressure(BP)–lowering therapies, the best combination for the black population is still a subject of debate because no large randomized controlled trials have been conducted in this group to compare the efficacy of different combination therapies to address this issue. Methods: The comparison of 3 combination therapies in lowering BP in the black Africans (CREOLE) study is a randomized single-blind trial that will compare the efficacy of amlodipine plus hydrochlorothiazide versus amlodipine plus perindopril and versus perindopril plus hydrochlorothiazide in blacks residing in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Seven hundred two patients aged 30-79 years with a sitting systolic BP of 140 mm Hg and above, and less than 160 mm Hg on antihypertensive monotherapy, or sitting systolic BP of 150 mm Hg and above, and less than 180 mm Hg on no treatment, will be centrally randomized into any of the 3 arms (234 into each arm). The CREOLE study is taking place in 10 sites in SSA, and the primary outcome measure is change in ambulatory systolic BP from baseline to 6 months. The first patient was randomized in June 2017, and the trial will be concluded by 2019. Conclusions: The CREOLE trial will provide unique information as to the most efficacious 2-drug combination in blacks residing in SSA and thereby inform the development of clinical guidelines for the treatment of hypertension in this subregion.