A Cross Sectional Study on Prescription Pattern and Combination Drug Therapy in Hypertension Among Patients Visiting Alka Hospital Kathmandu

Background: The sources of drug usage data vary from country to country depending on the level of sophistication of medical record keeping, data collection, data analysis, reporting and the operational considerations of the health care system. In the majority of the countries, different physicians’ prescribing patterns for anti-hypertensive medications widely differ from the established standards. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the prescription pattern and practice of combination drug therapy of anti-hypertensive medicines in Alka Hospital, Kathmandu. Method: The medical record of patients who received anti-hypertensive drugs during their treatment periods were reviewed. Data entry was done in MS Excel data sheet and data were analyzed in SPSS. The total number of prescriptions analyzed was 112. Results: The maximum percentage of males and females with hypertension was found in the age group of 40-60 years. As mono therapy Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs) (39.28%) were the most commonly prescribed anti-hypertensive followed by Calcium Channel Blockers (CCBs) (8.92%) and Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEIs) (0.89%). In combination therapy often two drugs combination was prescribed. The most common combination was ARBs + CCBs (24.1%), followed by ARBs + Diuretics (6.25%). Conclusion: The prevalent prescribing pattern of antihypertensive in Alka Hospital seems to be in compliance with Joint National Committee VIII (JNC VIII) guidelines.