title: Current prescription status of antihypertensive drugs with special reference to the use of diuretics in Japan.
abstract: The guidelines for the management of hypertension recommend the inclusion of diuretics, especially when three or more antihypertensive drugs are used. The present study investigated the current prescription status of antihypertensive drugs with a particular focus on the use of diuretics in a local district in Japan. Prescriptions, including antihypertensive drugs, were collected from a dispensing pharmacy of the Yahata Pharmacist Association, located in Kitakyushu City, in October 2014. Of the 10 585 prescriptions, calcium channel blockers (CCBs) were prescribed in 73.5%, followed by angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB, 62.7%), diuretics (16.5%) and β-blockers (13.6%). The average number of drugs used was 1.80. The rates of prescription of diuretics for patients with one, two, three and four drugs were 0.6%, 13.1%, 55.2% and 82.6%, respectively. Diuretics were more frequently prescribed in elderly patients, and the prescription rate of doctors in hospitals was significantly higher than that of general practitioners (19.1% vs. 15.7%, P<0.01). In addition, 40% of patients with thiazide diuretics were prescribed combination tablets of hydrochlorothiazide with ARB, whereas trichlormethiazide (34.9%) and indapamide (19.8%) were used in other patients. Based on these findings, the use of diuretics remains limited, even among patients taking multiple antihypertensive drugs.
authors: Hypertension Center, Steel Memorial Yawata Hospital, Kitakyushu, Japan.|Division of Hypertension, Clinical Research Institute, National Hospital Organization Kyushu Medical Center, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Ai
authors: A
authors: Ibaraki
authors: Division of Pharmacy, Steel Memorial Yawata Hospital, Kitakyushu, Japan.
authors: Wataru
authors: W
authors: Goto
authors: Division of Pharmacy, Steel Memorial Yawata Hospital, Kitakyushu, Japan.
authors: Rie
authors: R
authors: Iura
authors: Division of Hypertension, Clinical Research Institute, National Hospital Organization Kyushu Medical Center, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Mitsuhiro
authors: M
authors: Tominaga
authors: Hypertension Center, Steel Memorial Yawata Hospital, Kitakyushu, Japan.|Division of Hypertension, Clinical Research Institute, National Hospital Organization Kyushu Medical Center, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Takuya
authors: T
authors: Tsuchihashi
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D057911:Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004232:Diuretics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D057911:Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D004232:Diuretics