Evidence map›Paper›PMID 9667089›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners1998

The management of hypertension in the elderly by general practitioners in Merseyside: the rule of halves revisited.

M Cranney, S Barton, T Walley

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 1998. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Improving management of hypertension in general practice: a randomised controlled trial of feedback derived from electronic patient data.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2005
    Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Addressing barriers to change: an RCT of practice-based education to improve the management of hypertension in the elderly.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 1999
    Trial
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Zero end-digit preference in recorded blood pressure and its impact on classification of patients for pharmacologic management in primary care - PREDICT-CVD-6.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2007
    Article
  9. Antihypertensive drug prescribing in Grampian.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2005
    Article
  10. Blood pressure control in treated hypertensive patients: clinical performance of general practitioners.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2001
    Article
  11. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

M CranneyDepartment of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Liverpool.
S Barton
T Walley

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTreatment of hypertension in the elderly significantly reduces cardiovascular events and confers greater absolute benefit compared with treating younger adults. However, this group has been undertreated in the past.

aimTo perform a reliable and valid multipractice audit of the current management of elderly hypertensive patients.

methodAn observational study conducted as multiple standardized audits in general practices. The notes of 6139 patients aged 65 years or over from 76 general practices in Merseyside were examined to determine the percentage of elderly patients who had their blood pressure recorded. The percentages of hypertensive patients who were diagnosed, treated, and controlled was also recorded.

resultsEighty-one per cent of the sample had their blood pressure recorded. Fifty-three per cent of patients over the age of 65 were identified as hypertensive; 64% of hypertensive patients are receiving antihypertensive medication and 54% of treated hypertensive patients can be considered controlled. However, very small changes in the criteria used to define blood pressure control have dramatic effects on the results. Digit preference and the number of available blood pressure recordings also significantly affect the results.

conclusionThe management of hypertension in the elderly by Merseyside general practitioners (GPs) gives better results than predicted by the 'rule of halves'. Elderly hypertensive patients are more likely to be detected and treated, but only half achieve control to 160/90. The results are particularly sensitive to the degree of digit preference, the number of available recordings, and to the precise definition used for control.

Indexed as

Medical AuditAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFamily PracticeFemaleHumansHypertensionMale

Identifiers

PMID9667089
PMCPMC1410051

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.