Study designs of evaluations included in the review
The type of study design included in the review was not stated. Papers describing patterns of compliance were selected if they described rates for different dosing regimes. For the survey of once-daily dosing, papers were selected only if they provided data on rates of compliance with antihypertensive medication prescribed once daily and on the methodology for compliance assessment.
Specific interventions included in the review
Antihypertensive Medication which includes amlodipine, calcium channel blockers, enalapril, triamterene and hydrochlorothiazide, hydrochlorothiazide chlorthalidone, trandolapril, atenolol, nitrendipine, isradipine, verapamil, and lisinopril.
Participants included in the review
Patients who have been prescribed hypertensive medication.
Outcomes assessed in the review
Compliance with medication and the consequences of poor compliance (with regards to short term and long term outcomes of hypertension). Specific compliance assessment, included in the review, was microelectronic monitoring that documented the number of days on which one dose was taken, and the number of days on which the dose was taken within the prescribed interval of 24 hours (+/- 6 to 12 hours) (8 studies); prescription refill records to estimate compliance as the number of days between refill (3 studies); the number of pills remaining (1 study); patient interviews to estimate the number of days a dose was taken (1 study).
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The author does not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many of the reviewers performed the selection.