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1359: A Retrospective Audit to Explore if Patients with Hypertension are Managed in Accordance with the 1999 British Hypertension Guidelines
Journal article   Peer reviewed

1359: A Retrospective Audit to Explore if Patients with Hypertension are Managed in Accordance with the 1999 British Hypertension Guidelines

B Sanderson and Deborah Massey
European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, Vol.3(1), pp.107-108
2004
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/147451510400300160
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https://doi.org/10.1017/147451510400300160View
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Abstract

Nursing
Purpose: The single most common cause of death in the United Kingdom is Coronary heart disease. Evidence continues to highlight that effective treatment of recognised risk factors such as hypertension; smoking, raised blood lipids and obesity would significantly reduce the incidence of CHD &stroke. The aim of this presentation is to present the results of a retrospective audit of patients diagnosed with hypertension. The audit utilised the 1999 British Hypertension Guidelines as a standard criteria to established if treatment decisions in a specific primary care setting are underpinned by the best practice. Methods: A purposeful sample of 259 patients diagnosed with hypertension was employed. Following a retrospective audit the data was analysed using SPSS version 11.0. A variety of statistical tests were employed using descriptive analysis and frequency tables. Results: The results revealed poor compliance with the British Heart Foundation Guidelines. In particular the audit highlighted deficits in the initial screening investigations and in prescribing decisions in relation to Aspirin and Statins. Only 34% of patients were prescribed a statin and 24.7% were prescribed aspirin. The number of patients with an optimal blood pressure of less than 140 mmHG systolic was 54.2% and 68.9% of patients had an optimal diastolic pressure of less than 90 mmHG The audit revealed significant discrepancies in prescribing practices. A total of 43 different drugs were prescribed to the patients in the study. Conclusion: The study highlighted some significant issues relating to the treatment and management of hypertension in the primary care setting. In light of major political drivers likes clinical Governance and the National Service Framework for Excellence health care providers are increasingly being challenged to deliver evidence based care. Although not generalisable to other primary care setting this study has clearly demonstrated that audit is a valuable tool in the practice setting. Audit can be utilised to identify gaps in clinical practice and plays a significant role in informing and augmenting clinical practice.

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