Volume 24, Issue 106, November - December, 2020

Predictors affecting prescribing pattern of ACEIs among stroke patients

Rasathi Ellangovan¹, Rosnani Hashim¹, Yaman Walid Kassab¹, Muhammad Shahid Iqbal^2♦, Salah-Ud-Din Khan³, Eldowaik Mohamed Salah Saad¹

¹Department of Hospital and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Cyberjaya, Cyberjaya, Malaysia
²Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-kharj, 11942, Saudi Arabia
³Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Al Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-kharj, 11942, Saudi Arabia; Email: m.javed@psau.edu.sa

ABSTRACT

Objective: This study was carried out to look at the prescribing pattern of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and their related factors. The prescribing pattern of ACEIs and factors affecting such prescribing trends among stroke patients were evaluated. Methods: This study was conducted among 96 stroke patients aged from 30 to 92 years in a hospital in Malaysia. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: A total of 88 patients were available for descriptive analysis and logistic regression analysis. On average, patients were aged 67.62 years (standard deviation of 13.14) and had a higher incidence in Malay ethnicity (42.7%). Ischemic stroke accounted for 91.67% of the study, with a slightly higher proportion of female patients (51.04%). Hypertension was a major risk factor for the incidence of stroke and secondary stroke. The majority of the patients complained of generalized body weakness as their major symptom (19.81%). Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) were found to be the most prescribed antihypertensive agents among stroke patients (40.9%), followed by ACEIs (31.8%). The relative odds of patients 60 years old and below are most likely to be prescribed with ACEIs at discharge (p=0.006). On the other hand, patients with existing dyslipidemia and taking ACEIs (p=0.018) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) prior to admission are less likely to be prescribed with ACEIs at discharge (p=0.002). Conclusion: Despite the growing evidence on the efficacy of ACEIs in reducing the risk of getting stroke recurrence by 20-30% in the normotensive and hypertensive stroke patients, its use is still below the par level throughout this period in relation to other antihypertensive drugs in the secondary prevention of stroke.

Keywords: stroke, prescribing pattern, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, ACEIs

Medical Science, 2020, 24(106), 4510-4516

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