Pharmacist-led intervention improves BP control of patients on oral chemotherapy

Patients on oral chemotherapy, who underwent a pharmacist-led hypertension management program, show improvements in blood pressure (BP) control as well as lower mean BP readings over time, reports a recent study.

“Oral chemotherapy agents are a growing area of oncology treatment, but some are associated with a high incidence of hypertension,” the investigators said. “Management of hypertension in oncology patients may be insufficient due to a variety of reasons.”

A team of investigators conducted a retrospective, single-centre study to examine the impact of a pharmacist-led hypertension management program on the BP control of patients on oral chemotherapy. They compared data from two cohorts of patients treated with oral chemotherapy agents from a health systems specialty pharmacy within an academic medical centre, before and after the establishment of a pharmacist-led hypertension management program.

At the end of the specified 3-month study period, overall BP goal was achieved by 19 of 29 (66 percent) patients in the intervention group compared with 21 of 50 (42 percent) in the control group (p=0.04).

In cases where a pharmacist intervention was needed in keeping with the protocol of the hypertension management program, a high rate of provider acceptance was noted for recommendations regarding modifying or initiating antihypertensive therapy.

“A pharmacist-led hypertension management service within the specialty pharmacy setting has the potential to help patients on oral chemotherapy achieve and maintain adequate BP control,” the investigators said.