Doctors' Knowledge of Hypertension Guidelines Recommendations Reflected in Their Practice

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Abstract

Aim

To evaluate doctors' knowledge, attitude, and practices and predictors of adherence to Malaysian hypertension guidelines (CPG 2008).

Methods

Twenty-six doctors involved in hypertension management at Penang General Hospital were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Doctors' knowledge and attitudes towards guidelines were evaluated through a self-administered questionnaire. Their practices were evaluated by noting their prescriptions written to 520 established hypertensive outpatients (20 prescriptions/doctor). SPSS 17 was used for data analysis.

Results

Nineteen doctors (73.07%) had adequate knowledge of guidelines. Specialists and consultants had significantly better knowledge about guidelines' recommendations. Doctors were positive towards guidelines with mean attitude score of 23.15 ± 1.34 points on a 30-point scale. The median number of guidelines compliant prescriptions was 13 (range 5–20). Statistically significant correlation ( r _s = 0.635, P < 0.001) was observed between doctors' knowledge and practice scores. A total of 349 (67.1%) prescriptions written were guidelines compliant. In multivariate analysis hypertension clinic (OR = 0.398, P = 0.008), left ventricular hypertrophy (OR = 0.091, P = 0.001) and heart failure (OR = 1.923, P = 0.039) were significantly associated with guidelines adherence.

Conclusion

Doctors' knowledge of guidelines is reflected in their practice. The gap between guidelines recommendations and practice was seen in the pharmacotherapy of uncomplicated hypertension and hypertension with left ventricular hypertrophy, renal disease, and diabetes mellitus.

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Most cited references 40

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Incident diabetes in clinical trials of antihypertensive drugs: a network meta-analysis.

C. Meyer, Bruce E Elliott (2007)

The effect of different classes of antihypertensive drugs on incident diabetes mellitus is controversial because traditional meta-analyses are hindered by heterogeneity across trials and the absence of trials comparing angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors with angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARB). We therefore undertook a network meta-analysis, which accounts for both direct and indirect comparisons to assess the effects of antihypertensive agents on incident diabetes. We undertook a systematic review up to Sept 15, 2006, and identified 48 randomised groups of 22 clinical trials with 143,153 participants who did not have diabetes at randomisation and so were eligible for inclusion in our analysis. 17 trials enrolled patients with hypertension, three enrolled high-risk patients, and one enrolled those with heart failure. The main outcome was the proportion of patients who developed diabetes. Initial drug therapy used in the trials (and the number of patients with diabetes of the total number at risk) included: an ARB (1189 of 14,185, or 8.38%), ACE inhibitor (1618 of 22,941, or 7.05%), calcium-channel blocker (CCB, 2791 of 38,607, or 7.23%), placebo (1686 of 24,767, or 6.81%), beta blocker (2705 of 35,745, or 7.57%), or diuretic (998 of 18,699, or 5.34%). With an initial diuretic as the standard of comparison (eight groups), the degree of incoherence (a measure of how closely the entire network fits together) was small (omega=0.000017, eight degrees of freedom). The odds ratios were: ARB (five groups) 0.57 (95% CI 0.46-0.72, p<0.0001); ACE inhibitor (eight groups) 0.67 (0.56-0.80, p<0.0001); CCB (nine groups): 0.75 (0.62-0.90, p=0.002); placebo (nine groups) 0.77 (0.63-0.94, p = 0.009); beta blocker (nine groups) 0.90 (0.75-1.09, p=0.30). These estimates changed little in many sensitivity analyses. The association of antihypertensive drugs with incident diabetes is therefore lowest for ARB and ACE inhibitors followed by CCB and placebo, beta blockers and diuretics in rank order.

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Comorbidities of diabetes and hypertension: mechanisms and approach to target organ protection.

Rachel Long, Samuel Jack (2011)

Up to 75% of adults with diabetes also have hypertension, and patients with hypertension alone often show evidence of insulin resistance. Thus, hypertension and diabetes are common, intertwined conditions that share a significant overlap in underlying risk factors (including ethnicity, familial, dyslipidemia, and lifestyle determinants) and complications. These complications include microvascular and macrovascular disorders. The macrovascular complications, which are well recognized in patients with longstanding diabetes or hypertension, include coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, congestive heart failure, and peripheral vascular disease. Although microvascular complications (retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy) are conventionally linked to hyperglycemia, studies have shown that hypertension constitutes an important risk factor, especially for nephropathy. The familial predisposition to diabetes and hypertension appears to be polygenic in origin, which militates against the feasibility of a "gene therapy" approach to the control or prevention of these conditions. On the other hand, the shared lifestyle factors in the etiology of hypertension and diabetes provide ample opportunity for nonpharmacologic intervention. Thus, the initial approach to the management of both diabetes and hypertension must emphasize weight control, physical activity, and dietary modification. Interestingly, lifestyle intervention is remarkably effective in the primary prevention of diabetes and hypertension. These principles also are pertinent to the prevention of downstream macrovascular complications of the two disorders. In addition to lifestyle modification, most patients will require specific medications to achieve national treatment goals for hypertension and diabetes. Management of hyperglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and the underlying hypercoagulable and proinflammatory states requires the use of multiple medications in combination. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Evidence of self-report bias in assessing adherence to guidelines.

S Soumerai, D Degnan, J Lomas … (1999)

To assess trends in the use of self-report measures in research on adherence to practice guidelines since 1980, and to determine the impact of response bias on the validity of self-reports as measures of quality of care. We conducted a MEDLINE search using defined search terms for the period 1980 to 1996. Included studies evaluated the adherence of clinicians to practice guidelines, official policies, or other evidence-based recommendations. Among studies containing both self-report (e.g. interviews) and objective measures of adherence (e.g. medical records), we compared self-reported and objective adherence rates (measured as per cent adherence). Evidence of response bias was defined as self-reported adherence significantly exceeding the objective measure at the 5% level. We identified 326 studies of guideline adherence. The use of self-report measures of adherence increased from 18% of studies in 1980 to 41% of studies in 1985. Of the 10 studies that used both self-report and objective measures, eight supported the existence of response bias in all self-reported measures. In 87% of 37 comparisons, self-reported adherence rates exceeded the objective rates, resulting in a median over-estimation of adherence of 27% (absolute difference). Although self-reports may provide information regarding clinicians' knowledge of guideline recommendations, they are subject to bias and should not be used as the sole measure of guideline adherence.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Nafees Ahmad:

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6202-4345

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Int J Hypertens

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Int J Hypertens

Journal ID (publisher-id): IJHY

Title: International Journal of Hypertension

Publisher: Hindawi

ISSN (Print): 2090-0384

ISSN (Electronic): 2090-0392

Publication date Collection: 2018

Publication date (Electronic): 12 March 2018

Volume: 2018

Affiliations

¹Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, University of Balochistan, Balochistan, Pakistan

²Discipline of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

³Department of Pharmacy, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

⁴Department of Pharmacy, The Islamia University, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Author notes

Academic Editor: Franco Veglio

Article

DOI: 10.1155/2018/8524063

PMC ID: 5867602

License:

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Doctors' Knowledge of Hypertension Guidelines Recommendations Reflected in Their Practice

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Abstract

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Most cited references 40

Incident diabetes in clinical trials of antihypertensive drugs: a network meta-analysis.

Comorbidities of diabetes and hypertension: mechanisms and approach to target organ protection.

Evidence of self-report bias in assessing adherence to guidelines.

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