Evaluation of a Common Prescribing Cascade of Calcium Channel Blockers and Diuretics in Older Adults With Hypertension.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) are commonly prescribed agents for hypertension that can cause peripheral edema. A prescribing cascade occurs when the edema is misinterpreted as a new medical condition and a diuretic is subsequently prescribed to treat the edema. The extent to which this prescribing cascade occurs at a population level is not well understood.

Objective

To measure the association between being newly dispensed a CCB and subsequent dispensing of a loop diuretic in older adults with hypertension.

Design, setting, and participants

A population-based cohort study was performed using linked health administrative databases of community-dwelling adults 66 years or older with hypertension and new prescription drug claims from September 30, 2011, to S

SUBMITTER: Savage RD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7042805 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature