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The patterns of antihypertensive drug prescription by cardiologists in Kerman province of Iran, 2006
Author(s) -
Sepehri Gholamreza,
Talebizadeh Nooshin,
Mirzazadeh Ali,
Mohsenbeigi Mottahareh
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.023
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1099-1557
pISSN - 1053-8569
DOI - 10.1002/pds.1521
Subject(s) - medicine , medical prescription , drug , antihypertensive drug , drug class , pharmacology , blood pressure
Purpose This study was performed to evaluate the antihypertensive prescribing pattern by cardiologists in outpatients attending private clinics in Kerman province, Iran during 1 year period, 2006. Methods Using random sampling method, 1102 prescriptions issued by cardiologists were investigated. The prescriptions of outpatients which contain at least one antihypertensive medication were separated for further analysis. Using World Health Organization (WHO) standard drug indicators, we evaluate the quality and quantity of prescriptions. The indices were compared between different sex groups by SPSS 11.5 software. Results About 39% of the patients were male. The average age of the individuals was 57.3 ± 13. The mean number of drugs per prescription was 2.84 ± 0.7, but the average of antihypertensive drugs per prescription was 1.4 ± 0.3, similarly in both sexes. The most prescribed drug class was β ‐blockers (46.2%) followed by calcium channel blockers (CCBs) (19.2%), angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (13.7%), diuretics (10.3%), angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) (9.2%) and other antihypertensive agents (1.5%). Most of the hypertensive patients (69.6%) were treated with a single drug while 31.4% of the patients received more than one drug. There was not a significant gender difference between the types of drug class used. Statins and acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) were prescribed as cardiovascular disease preventive drugs in 10.2 and 38% of hypertensive patients, respectively. Conclusion The mean numbers of drugs per prescription by cardiologists in Kerman province of Iran were not in agreement with WHO standard drug use indicators. Lower using rate of diuretics, statins and ASA need a comprehensive reassessment of the medical management of hypertensive patients. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.