Evaluation of Antihypertensive Prescribing Patterns and Adherence to JNC-8 Guidelines at a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

Research Article

Abstract

Hypertension remains one of the main causes to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality globally. The main of this work is to assess the antihypertensive prescribing practices and their conformity to established guidelines at a tertiary care hospital in Kalaburagi, India. A nine-month, prospective observational study carried out in 323 hypertensive inpatients admitted to the Department of Medicine. Data analysis focused on demographic profiles, hypertension classification according to the 8th Joint National Committee (JNC-8) guidelines, and prescribed therapeutic regimens. The results indicated a male predominance (58.51%) among participants, with the 61–70 year age group exhibiting the highest prevalence (27.55%). According to JNC-8 criteria, Stage 1 hypertension was the most frequent diagnosis (47.67%), followed by Stage 2 hypertension (34.36%). Monotherapy was the preferred therapeutic strategy (70.89%) over combination therapy (29.10%). Among single-drug regimens, the Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker (ARB) Telmisartan was the most prescribed agent (39.15%), followed by the Calcium Channel Blocker (CCB) Amlodipine (25.23%). The fixed-dose combination of Telmisartan and Amlodipine was the most common multi-drug regimen (50.00%). Diabetes mellitus was the most prevalent comorbidity (15.47%). The results from this study indicate that prescribing patterns largely align with JNC-8 guidelines, showing a clear preference for ARBs and CCBs. Periodic drug utilization evaluations are necessary to sustain rational pharmacotherapy in hypertensive management