Observational studyHeart (British Cardiac Society)2019
Fixed-dose combination antihypertensives and risk of medication errors.
Observational study in Heart (British Cardiac Society), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Impact of single-pill combination therapy on adherence, blood pressure control, and clinical outcomes: a rapid evidence assessment of recent literature.Journal of hypertension · 2020Pooled it
- Pharmacokinetic and Safety Profiles of a Fixed-Dose Combination of Amlodipine, Valsartan, and Atorvastatin: A 3-Period Replicate Crossover Study.Clinical pharmacology in drug development · 2020Trial
- Drug class duplication patterns among South African middle-aged adults: findings from a medicine claims database.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2026Article
- Associazione Nazionale Medici Cardiologi Ospedalieri (ANMCO) scientific statement on the simplification of the drug regimen for secondary cardiovascular prevention.European heart journal supplements : journal of the European Society of Cardiology · 2024Article
- Barriers and Facilitators of Medication Adherence in Hypertension Patients: A Meta-Integration of Qualitative Research.Journal of patient experience · 2024Article
- Trends in Antihypertensive Medicine Utilization in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina: An Eleven-Year Follow-Up.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
- The feasibility of polypill for cardiovascular disease prevention in Asian Population.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2021Review
- Fixed-Dose Combination Medications for Treating Hypertension: A Review of Effectiveness, Safety, and Challenges.Current hypertension reports · 2020Review
- Two-drug fixed-dose combinations of blood pressure-lowering drugs as WHO essential medicines: An overview of efficacy, safety, and cost.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2020Review
- Oral Fixed-Dose Combination Pharmaceutical Products: Industrial Manufacturing Versus Personalized 3D Printing.Pharmaceutical research · 2020Review
- Comparison of Efficacies of Commonly Used Hypertension Treatment Modalities: A Retrospective Study of 1900 Participants in a Hypertension Clinic.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2020Article
- Antihypertensive Prescribing Pattern in Older Adults: Implications of Age and the Use of Dual Single-Pill Combinations.High blood pressure & cardiovascular prevention : the official journal of the Italian Society of Hypertension · 2019Observational
- Real-world effectiveness and safety of torsemide and spironolactone fixed dose combination in Indian heart failure patients (RESTORE-HF study): a prospective, multicenter, observational study.Therapeutic advances in cardiovascular diseaseObservational
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveWhile fixed-dose combinations (FDC) can improve adherence, they may add complexity to the prescribing/dispensing process, potentially increasing risk of medication errors. This study aimed to determine if prescriptions for antihypertensive FDCs increase the risk of therapeutic duplication and drug-drug interactions (DDI).
methodsThis retrospective observational study used administrative pharmacy claims data from the Irish Primary Care Reimbursement Service. Prescriptions dispensed to adults in 2015 were included if they contained an antihypertensive FDC, or the same drugs prescribed separately. The outcomes were therapeutic duplication and potentially serious DDI involving FDC drugs. Relative risk (RR) of these outcomes, adjusted for prescription and patient factors, was determined using generalised linear models with Poisson distributions and propensity score matching.
resultsThis study included 307 833 FDC prescriptions (67.0%) and 151 632 separate component prescriptions. Half of patients prescribed FDCs were female with a mean age of 67.1 (SD 12.5) years and, compared with separate component prescriptions, FDCs were less often coprescribed with other cardiovascular medications. Therapeutic duplication occurred in 0.8% of prescriptions, most often involving calcium channel blockers, and 10.6% contained a DDI (most often amlodipine and simvastatin). The RR of therapeutic duplication on FDC prescriptions compared with separate component prescriptions was 1.46 (95% CI 1.17 to 1.83) and the adjusted RR was 2.06 (95% CI 1.64 to 2.60). For DDIs, there was no significant difference between FDC and separate component prescriptions after confounder adjustment.
conclusionsThis study found FDCs were associated with increased risk of duplication. When considering prescribing FDCs, this safety consideration should be weighed against potential benefits.
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