Safety of Tamsulosin: A Systematic Review of Randomized Trials with a Focus on Women and Children

Introduction Although tamsulosin is indicated for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), it has also been assessed in clinical studies for other conditions/symptoms and in other populations such as women and children. In this systematic review of randomized studies, the overall safety of tamsulosin was assessed, focusing on these understudied populations. Methods Literature searches were conducted using Embase, Medline, and PubMed (inception–December 2015). A study was included if patients were randomized to receive treatment with any dose of tamsulosin capsules, tablets, or an oral controlled absorption system and numerical safety results were reported. Results Overall, 160 articles involving 46,072 participants met the inclusion criteria. Of these, four studies included women only and three included children. The mean [standard deviation (SD)] age ranged from 7.3 (4.2) to 76.8 (7.1) years. The studies (n; %) evaluated healthy subjects (18; 11%) or patients with lower urinary tract symptoms/BPH (90; 56%), ureteral stones/renal colic (42; 26%), prostatitis (4; 3%), or other conditions (6; 4%). Patients discontinued tamsulosin primarily because of adverse events (AEs) or insufficient response. AEs in women and children were abdominal pain, asthenia, constipation, dizziness, dry mouth, drowsiness, dyspepsia, headache, incontinence, nasal congestion, nausea, orthostatic hypotension, and somnolence. Due to heterogeneity across studies, statistical analysis could not be conducted. Discussion No unexpected AEs were observed in an all-comers population treated with tamsulosin for various conditions/symptoms. The overall safety profile in women and children seemed to be generally consistent with the profile in men, the indicated population.