title: Analysis of the prescription of captopril to hospitalized patients.
abstract: One of the most common complications of Systemic Arterial Hypertension is the hypertensive crisis(1) characterized by a symptomatic elevation of blood pressure (BP) with or without involvement of target organs, which may lead to immediate or potential risk to life. The hypertensive crisis may manifest itself as hypertensive emergency or urgency. In the emergency there is fast deterioration of target organs and immediate risk to life, a situation that does not occur in hypertensive urgency. On the other hand, situations in which the patient presents elevated BP due to an emotionally charged, painful or uncomfortable event, with no evidence of lesion of target organs or immediate risk to life, characterize the hypertensive pseudo-crisis, a condition that does not require the use of emergency antihypertensive therapy. Despite this fact, the practice has become widespread of prescribing antihypertensive medication prior to situations believed to present a risk of abrupt BP elevation, irrespective of the symptoms. This study aims at assessing the frequency of prescription of captopril prior to BP elevation in patients hospitalized in a university hospital. It was also intended to map the places (clinical or surgical wards) where this procedure was more frequent.
authors.affiliation: Complexo Hospitalar Universitário Prof. Edgard Santos, Salvador, BA - Brazil. mgalvao@ufba.br
authors.forename: Márcio Galvão
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Antônio Carlos Beisl
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Noblat
authors.forename: Lúcia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Noblat
authors.forename: Luiz Carlos
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Passos
mesh_terms: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002216:Captopril / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control; D010362:Patients' Rooms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013527:Perioperative Nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012309:Risk-Taking; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D055553:Prescription Drugs; D002216:Captopril