Prescribing pattern of anti-hypertensive medications among hypertensive outpatients at selected hospitals of South Gondar Zone, Amhara, Ethiopia: a hospital based cross sectional study

Abstract Background Irrational prescription has a lion share for uncontrolled blood pressure. There is no study assessing prescription pattern among hypertensive patients at the study sites. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to evaluate prescription patterns for hypertension and blood pressure (BP) control at randomly selected hospitals of South Gondar Zone. Methods A hospital based cross sectional study was conducted from December 1, 2020 to February 30, 2021. Hypertensive patients were selected by systematic random sampling proportionally from study hospitals. Structured questionnaires were used to collect socio-demographic chacteristics and adherence. Data abstraction form was used to collect prescription patterns, BP level and other necessary information. The association of prescription patterns and other variables with blood pressure control was determined by using binary logistic regression. Results All recruited 423 patients were included in data analysis. Among prescriptions for hypertension, on average 93.5% were found to be in line with WHO guideline. About 53% of prescriptions for hypertension were monotherapies. Patient level low medication regimen complexity, and monotherapy were associated with blood pressure control (Ajusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 2.04, [1.07–3.91]; AOR = 3.83 [1.42–10.35], respectively). Patients with inappropriate drug selection, and non-adherence were less likely to have controlled BP (AOR = 0.47 [0.26–0.85]; AOR = 0.52 [0.34–0.85], respectively). Moreover, patients who didn’t have health insurance and follow regular aerobic exercise were less likely to have controlled BP (AOR = 0.42 [0.26–0.68]; AOR = 0.53 [0.32–0.88], respectively). Conclusion Diuretics were the most frequently prescribed drug in monotherapy and in combination with calcium channel blockers (CCBs) as dual therapy. On average, more than 90% of prescription was in accordance with WHO guideline and around one-third of participants experienced at least one moderate or major drug-drug interaction. Patient level low medication regimen complexity and monotherapy were positively associated with BP control whereas, non-adherence, inappropriate drug selection, having no health insurance, and didn’t follow regular aerobic exercise were negatively associated with BP control. Clinicians should be adherent to treatment guidelines and focus on modifiable factors to improve BP control