Effectiveness and clinical inertia in the management of hypertension in patients in Colombia

- Clinical inertia influences the lack of control of hypertension in primary care.
- In Latin America, there are no studies that have reported hypertension clinical inertia.
- An effectiveness of 81.7% and inertia in 81.8% of patients uncontrolled were found.
- Diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and >65 years old are predictors of clinical inertia.

Determine the effectiveness of treatment and the frequency of clinical inertia in the management of hypertension in Colombian patients. A retrospective study with prospective follow-up of individuals on antihypertensive medication who were treated on medical consultation for 1 year was conducted in 20 Colombian cities. Clinical inertia was considered when no modification of therapy occurred despite not achieving control goals. A total of 355 hypertensive patients were included. From a total of 1142 consultations, therapy was effective in 81.7% of cases. In 18.3% of the cases, the control goal was not achieved, and of these, 81.8% were considered clinical inertia. A logistic regression showed that the use of antidiabetics (odds ratio: 2.31; 95% confidence interval: 1.290-4.167; P = .008) was statistically associated with an increased risk of clinical inertia. With a determination of the frequency of inertia and the high effectiveness of antihypertensive treatment, valuable information can be provided to understand the predictors of clinical inertia.

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