ASSESSMENT OF ADHERENCE TO ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUGS USING URINE ANALYSIS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objectives: Non-adherence to medications is a common issue across patients with hypertension. Non-adherence to medications has serious consequences in patient's health and in the cost of health services. The aim of the study was to assess adherence to antihypertensive drugs using urine analysis in patients attending adult outpatient clinic at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH).Methods: This is a cross sectional study conducted in specialized lipid and Hypertension outpatient clinics at SQUH. The inclusion criteria to participate in the study were hypertensive patients aged above 18 years and taking at least one antihyperten-sive drug. 162 hypertensive patients agreed to participate in the study and provided sufficient urine samples for analysis. Further data was collected such as concomitant diseases; blood pressure and medications. Results: The mean (SD) age of participants was 55 (13) year and 43% of participants were females. The prevalence of directly measured nonadherence by urine drug detection was 27%. Compared with adherent patients, those who did not adhere to their treatment (n = 43) had a higher number of antihypertensive pills and drugs (3.2 vs 2.5, P = 0.002) put there was no significant difference in the total number of pills. After adjustment for age, SBP and DBP were higher in nonadherent than adherent group (SBP: 151 ± 19 vs 144 ± 18 respectively, P = 0.026; and DBP: 84 ± 11 vs 78 ± 9 respectively, P <0.001). Conclusion: Our finding indicates a suboptimal adherence to antihypertensive drugs in patients attending the outpatient clinics of a university hospital. However, it is better than the adherence rate reported in other studies.