Prescription patterns and treatment outcomes of hypertension in urban hospitals of Jos, Plateau State

Abstract

Hypertension has today assumed a public health status, causing extensive mortality and morbidity with cost of treatment worldwide, running into billions of dollars annually as direct and indirect costs. In Africa and particularly Jos, Nigeria, the resources of government (especially the health sector) and individuals are very limited in meeting health care needs. New drugs are daily being introduced to the pharmaceutical market for the management of hypertension in
particular and other diseases in general. Therefore, any drug eventually chosen for pharmacotherapy of any disease should be cost effective. The objective of this study was to investigate patterns of drug treatment and costs of antihypertensive drugs in the four secondary and tertiary hospitals in Jos city. The study was a qualitative retrospective
survey, employing structured questionnaires based on W.H.O methods of drug utilization studies to collect data from patients' case folders. Results of this study revealed several rational and non-rational prescription practices in the hospitals investigated. The use of brand names and injections were high based on WHO-ISH standards but the use of diuretics and calcium channel blockers were seen to be in line with recommendations and similar to patterns observed in other studies within and outside Nigeria. Cost effectiveness in the hospitals studied was averaged at fifteen naira (15.00) per 1 mmHg-1 reduction in diastolic blood pressure. Educational interventions to improve prescription habits will lead to better drug utilization and further enhance cost effectiveness of drug treatment .