Abstract

Background: Hypertension is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease burden worldwide. This study was therefore set to assess the pattern of anti-hypertensive prescriptions among adults hypertensive patients attending the Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), Aba, Nigeria.

Methods: This was a retrospective observational review of case notes of hypertensive patients that attended the medical outpatient unit of our hospital over a one-year period.

Results: A total of 204 case notes were analyzed. The mean age of patients was 58.66yrs. Female patients (60.3%) w­ere more than males (39.7%) giving a Male: Female ratio of 1: 1.5. Majority of the patients had mild hypertension (43.6%) followed by moderate hypertension 35.9%, and severe hypertension 20.5% respectively. The most prescribed class of Monotherapy drugs was calcium channel blockers, followed by Angiotensin receptor blockers, while the least prescribed was a thiazide diuretic. A two-drug combination was the most prominent in the multi-drug combinations therapy. A combination of calcium channel blocker and Angiotensin receptor blocker was the most prescribed two-drug combination.

Conclusion: The most prescribed Monotherapy class of antihypertensive drug in ABSUTH is a calcium channel blocker while the least a thiazide diuretic.

Keywords:Hypertension; Cardiovascular Disease; Anti-Hypertensive Prescriptions

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Citation

Citation: Okoronkwo NC., et al. “Pattern of Antihypertensive Prescription at Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Aba, South East Nigeria". Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 4.6 (2020): 03-07.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Okoronkwo NC., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.