Effectiveness of Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARB) and Hydrochlorothiazide Compared to ARB Monotherapy in the Control of Hypertension among Adult Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Hypertension (HTN) is a global disease of public health concern. It is considered a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The global and regional recommendations for the management of high blood pressure are complicated, with an increasing call for several adequate measures to commence treatment, increase the dosage, or introduce a new class of medication. Evidence suggests that most people with HTN require more than one drug regime to achieve blood pressure goals, with a greater percentage of patients reporting only having access to monotherapy. This work evaluated the combined effectiveness of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) compared to ARB monotherapy in an uncontrolled hypertensive patients. Methods: The search involved screening through databases such as Cochrane Library, PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Medline, and the Web of Science, medical journals, and international registry on clinicals from the WHO were searched for primary studies not older than 13 years. Randomized control trials (RCTs) comparing the effectiveness of ARB/HCTZ versus ARB monotherapy in hypertensive patients were selected. Care was taken to include only studies that lasted at least four weeks. Meta-analysis was conducted on RevMan 5.3 statistical application software, following data extraction. Data quality and risk of bias assessment were also all assessed. A total of seven RCTs were considered for this study involving 4814 participants. Results: The result from the intervention arm revealed that ARB/HCTZ combination resulted in a higher rate of target blood pressure achievement when compared to ARB monotherapy relative risk (RR) = 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.42, 1.65), with p < 0.00007. The adverse effects observed in the intervention arm were not significant. Conclusion: The ARB/HCTZ combination therapy was more effective in lowering and controlling blood pressure when compared to ARB monotherapy without significant adverse drug effects reported by the participants. Health workers should therefore recommend ARB/HCTZ combination therapy for patients with uncontrolled hypertension.