Improving Drug Adherence Using Fixed Combinations Caused Beneficial Treatment Outcomes and Decreased Health-Care Costs in Patients with Hypertension. (August 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kumagai, Naoto; Onishi, Katsuya; Hoshino, Kozo; Nakamori, Shiro; Kitai, Tamaki; Yazu, Takahiro; Oota, Masahiro; Ueda, Yuji; Hiraoka, Naoto; Okamoto, Shinya; Yamada, Tomomi; Dohi, Kaoru; Nakamura, Mashio; Ito, Masaaki
• Is Part Of: Clinical and experimental hypertension. Volume 35:Number 5(2013)
• Page Start: 355
• Page End: 360
• Publication Date: 2013-08
• Subjects: Hypertension -- Chemotherapy -- Periodicals; Hypotensive agents -- Periodicals; 616.132
• DOI: 10.3109/10641963.2012.732644
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1064-1963

Abstract

<abstract> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>We enrolled 196 patients with hypertension who were already being treated with free-drug combinations of angiotensin-II receptor blocker (ARB) and amlodipine. The free-drug combinations of ARB and amlodipine were replaced with the same dose of the fixed-dose combinations. The average home blood pressure (BP) in all patients receiving fixed-dose combinations was significantly lower than those receiving free-drug combinations (131 ± 10/75 ± 8 vs. 136 ± 11/77 ± 9 mm Hg, <italic>P</italic> &lt; .01) accompanied with increasing drug adherence. After lowering BP by fixed-dose combinations, the costs for medications decreased by 31% over the 3 months.</p> </abstract>