Analysis of Medication Prescriptions for Hypertension in a Class 1 and Grade A Hospital in Shanxi Province

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to examine the medication prescriptions for hypertension in a class 1 and grade A hospital in Shanxi province to provide references for clinical rational drug use.

Methods: An inpatient medical record inquiry system was used to evaluate the use of antihypertensives in a hypertensive population (age ≥ 18 years old) who received a prescription for one or more antihypertensives between January 2017 and December 2019. The hypertensive population was categorized into grades (1, 2, and 3), age groups, and different comorbidities to analyze the medication prescriptions. Drug analysis included angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), angiotensin receptor antagonist (ARB), calcium channel blocker (CCB), diuretics, and beta-receptor blockers (B-RB). SPSS16.0 was used for statistical analysis, including one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA,) chi-squared test, and multifactor logistic regression analysis.

Results: The overall control rate of blood pressure was 60.79%. The control rates of single, double, triple, and quadruple antihypertensives were 70.08%, 59.97%, 56.27%, and 45.23%, respectively. There were more cases of grade 3 than grades 1 and 2. The 18-65 years group was larger than the 66-79 years and ≥ 80 years groups. With the increase in grade, the prescription rate of the single drug decreased and the prescription rate of the combination drug increased, but this phenomenon was not obvious in different age groups. The most common drug prescribed for monotherapy was CCB; CCB combined with B-RB had the highest drug use in the double group by age or grade. Statistically significant differences were detected in the type of comorbidities between different age groups (P < 0.001), while only some differences were observed between different grades. Also, statistically significant differences were observed in the drugs prescribed for patients with hypertension with different comorbidities (P < 0.001). Factors influencing the efficiency of antihypertensives included sex, age, diabetes, heart failure, and usage of CCB and B-RB. The prescription rate of ARB combined with B-RB was relatively higher in grade 2 cases. B-RB was the primary drug for patients with diabetes, significantly increasing the blood glucose level.

Conclusions: The medication prescription of this hospital was in line with the requirements of China's hypertension prevention and treatment guidelines. The pathophysiology of patients with hypertension in different age groups, increased use of combination drugs, and rational drug requirement should be considered when prescribing drugs.

Keywords: Comorbidities; Control rate; Drug combination; Hypertension.