Adherence to antihypertensives in the United States: A comparative meta-analysis of 23 million patients.

Adherence to antihypertensives is crucial for control of blood pressure. This study analyzed factors and interventions that could affect adherence to antihypertensives in the US. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase were searched on January 21, 2022 and December 25, 2023 for studies on the adherence to antihypertensives in the US. Nineteen studies and 23 545 747 patients were included in the analysis, which showed that adherence to antihypertensives was the highest among Whites (OR: 1.47, 95% CI 1.34-1.61 compared to African Americans). Employment status and sex were associated with insignificant differences in adherence rates. In contrast, marital status yielded a significant difference where unmarried patients demonstrated low adherence rates compared to married ones (OR: 0.8, 95% CI 0.67-0.95). On analysis of comorbidities, diabetic patients reported lower adherence to antihypertensives (OR: 0.95, 95% CI 0.92-0.97); furthermore, patients who did not have Alzheimer showed higher adherence rates. Different BMIs did not significantly affect the adherence rates. Patients without insurance reported significantly lower adherence rates than insured patients (OR: 3.93, 95% CI 3.43-4.51). Polypill users had higher adherence rates compared with the free-dose combination (OR: 1.21, 95% CI 1.2-1.21), while telepharmacy did not prove to be as effective. Lower adherence rates were seen among African Americans, uninsured, or younger patients. Accordingly, interventions such as fixed-dose combinations should be targeted at susceptible groups. Obesity and overweight did not affect the adherence to antihypertensives.

Endotracheal intubation in patients undergoing open abdominal surgery in the lateral position: a comparison between the intubating video stylet and fiberoptic intubating bronchoscopy.

BACKGROUND: Some situations compel anesthetists to execute endotracheal intubation in the lateral position. We compared elective endotracheal intubation in the lateral decubitus position using the video stylet (VS) device with the fiberoptic (FO) bronchoscope device in patients undergoing abdominal surgery. METHODS: Overall, 50 patients were enrolled in this prospective, randomized study. They were randomly classified into the VS intubation or FO intubating bronchoscope group. After anesthesia induction, patients were placed in the lateral decubitus position, and a single investigator well-versed with the use of the VS and FO bronchoscope performed the intubation. The primary outcome was the time taken for intubation. Secondary outcomes included the intubation success rate, hemodynamic response at specific time points and perioperative complications. RESULTS: The average time taken for intubation was significantly lesser in the VS group than in the FO group, with values of 39.5 ± 10.0 and 75.6 ± 16.2 s, respectively (P < 0.001). Incidences of a successful first attempt of intubation in the VS and FO groups were 88% and 100%, respectively, showing no significant difference. There was a negligible difference in complications between the groups, except sore throat, which showed a higher incidence in the VS group than in the FO group (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: In laterally positioned patients, elective endotracheal intubation with VS provides less intubation time; however, its use is accompanied by a significant increase in the hemodynamic response after intubation and an increased incidence of sore throat.