Prescribing patterns of thiazide diuretics in multi-drug antihypertensive regimens

Abstract EN

Recent guidelines (e.

g., JNC VII, European guidelines 2007, and Egyptian guidelines 2003), recommend that, most hypertensive patients will need two or more drugs to reach the target blood pressure, when the goal is difficult t achieve (e.

g., stage 2 hypertension).

The objective was to estimate the percentage of patients receiving thiazide diuretics for blood pressure lowering among those receiving single, two, three or more drugs.

Fifty-three hypertensive patients were studied in a primary care facility and the individuals taking any thiazide diuretic among patients receiving antihypertensive were identified.

Hydrochlorothiazide was the only prescribed diuretic.

Rates of hydrochlorothiazide use were 3.7% and 50%, There is an apparent under-utilization of diuretics in multi-drug hypertension regimens.