Evaluation of antihypertensive prescriptions for rationality and adherence to treatment guidelines: An experience from United Arab Emirates

Objectives Prescription pattern focused drug utilization is an effective technique which provides an unbiased assessment of the prescribing habits and aids in identifying suboptimal prescribing. The aim of the present study was to evaluate rationality in antihypertensive prescribing and adherence to international treatment guidelines. Methods It was an observational, prospective, cross sectional study carried out in 588 adult patients with hypertension presenting to medicine department of a secondary care hospital in United Arab Emirates. Electronic medical records of the patients were reviewed and demographic, clinical and antihypertensive prescription data were obtained. The antihypertensive prescriptions were assessed for rationality and adherence to the latest Joint National Committee (JNC) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for hypertension. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 24.0. Results Out of the total 588 patients included in the study, majority (57.1%) of the patients were females. The mean age of the patients was 63.2 ± 14.3 years, with majority of them aged 68 years and above (37.9%). Majority of the patients (67.9%) were on combination therapy receiving multiple drugs for the management of their hypertension. Overall, 69% of our antihypertensive prescriptions were adherent to the JNC 7 recommendations and 80.9% were as per JNC 8 recommendations. Also, 55% of the antihypertensive prescriptions were adherent to the 2011 and 2019 NICE guidelines. Conclusion In conclusion, the antihypertensive prescriptions at the study site mostly adhere to the latest international guidelines for the management hypertension.