A comparative study of monotherapy versus combination therapy in patients with stage-1 hypertension in terms of efficacy and cost effectiveness and to assess the medication adherence

Abstract

Hypertension has multiple pathogenesis and majority of patients require two or more antihypertensive drugs to provide optimum control of blood pressure. The aim is to compare the effectiveness of mono therapy versus combination therapy in patients with stage-1 hypertension, to assess the medication adherence and to compare the cost incurred per day for the different therapies. Patient’s demographical details and history was recorded in a data entry form. Outcome of the treatment was measured in terms of reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Patient’s medication adherence was assessed using modified Medication Adherence Scale. Economic outcomes were measured in terms of cost of individual therapy. The data was entered into the excel sheet and statistically analysed using ANOVA. Results showed that dual therapy is the most effective in reducing the mean systolic (28.75 mm Hg) and diastolic (8.875) blood pressure with the combination of Amlodipine + Telmisartan being the most effective. Here, 66 patients (33%) were found to be adherent and 134 patients (67%) were found to be non- adherent. It was found that AMLOKIND 2.5, LOSAKIND and ATEN 50 were the most cost effective brands of drug from the classes of calcium channel blockers, angiotensin receptor blockers and beta blockers respectively. Comparison of effectiveness of various antihypertensive therapies showed that dual therapy shows maximum reduction in mean systolic BP and thus it can be prescribed more often in Stage I hypertensive patients. The poor adherence scores indicate that a multidisciplinary approach with a greater involvement of the patient is required to increase the compliance of the patient. Also cost effective drugs need to be prescribed more in order to decrease the financial burden on the patients.