Drug-Related Problems in Hypertensive Patients with Multiple Comorbidities

Hypertensive patients with multiple comorbidities often received multiple medications to achieve target blood pressure and to treat other comorbidities which can lead to the occurrence of drug-related problems (DRP). The objectives of this study were to identify the DRPs and the most common drugs associated with DRPs in this population. The study was conducted prospectively involving hypertensive patients with multiple comorbidities at a tertiary care centre. Data were obtained from bed head tickets and from the interview with eligible patients. The assessment of DRPs was based on Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe Foundation (PCNE) Classification of DRP tools version 5.01. From the total of 80 patients, 88.8% of the patients had at least one DRP. A total number of 172 DRPs were identified with an average of 2.15 ± 1.5 DRPs per patient. The most frequent category of DRP was interactions (33.7%), followed by adverse reactions (23.9%), drug choice problems (14.5%), dosing problems (13.4%), others (8.1%) and drug use problems (6.4%). Antihypertensive agents were the most common drugs associated with DRPs in this population. Significant associations were found between elderly and the occurrence of adverse reactions, and between renal impairment with the occurrence of drug choice problems and over dosage problems. This study demonstrates that DRPs were frequently observed in hypertensive patients with multiple comorbidities. Thus interventions to resolve these problems are important to ensure the effectiveness and safety of the prescribed medications.