Angiotensin II inhibitors or Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARB s) are the most
recent addition to the suite of antihypertensives. They are also one of the most
expensive of the drug classes. Since the introduction of the first ARB on the
market, the merits of ARB s have been investigated. The mechanism of action
and indications are similar to ACE inhibitors thus comparisons have been done
between the two classes to ascertain if there are any added benefits in using
ARB s.
This study was an analysis of out of hospital chronic medication claims from a
managed care organisation in South Africa to view the utilisation pattern of ARB s
and to establish if there were any indications for the choice of this specific drug
class for the conditions hypertension and heart failure..
A managed care organisation aims to provide clinically appropriate and cost
effective medication to its members. It is therefore important to investigate if there
are any reasons for a more expensive drug to be used if there is a more cost
effective alternative available.
The medication claims for ARB s were investigated, in relation to ACE inhibitors to
try and establish if there were any specific reasons for the use of ARB s. From the
results obtained, it was evident that ACE inhibitors and ARB s were widely used
within the managed care organisation and made up a high percentage of the
amount spent on antihypertensive drugs.
The gender utilisation patterns showed that more males used ACE inhibitors and
ARB s for both hypertension and heart failure, although there were more females
registered for these conditions within the organisation.
The incidence of hypertension and heart failure was more prevalent in the over 45
year old age group and the use of these antihypertensive medications mirrored
this.
ARB s were the most expensive class of drugs used for hypertension and heart
failure, and there was no reason found to support the specific use of these
agents.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/6963 |
| Date | 21 May 2009 |
| Creators | Juggath, Ashti |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf |
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