The patterns of antihypertensive drug prescription by cardiologists in Kerman province of Iran, 2006.

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 beta-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.