Use of azilsartan medoxomil in the primary-care setting in Germany: A real-world evidence study

Objective: To evaluate azilsartan medoxomil (AZM) (Edarbi(®)) utilization patterns in the primary-care setting in Germany. Materials and methods: This is a retrospective cohort study among patients receiving AZM in the primary-care setting in Germany. Prescription patterns – including patient demographics, off-label use, use in specific populations, concomitant use of other antihypertensive drugs, and drugs potentially causing interactions with AZM – were analyzed in two periods (01/2012 – 12/2013 and 01/2014 – 11/2016) using the primary-care physician panel of German IMS(®) Disease Analyzer, a patient-level electronic medical records database. Results: In total, 852 of 1,159 (74%) and 696 of 811 (86%) patients met the inclusion criteria for both periods, respectively. Approximately 25% of patients were aged ≥ 75 years; 1 patient was < 18 years old; ~ 50% were females. AZM was prescribed for the approved indication of essential hypertension in 83% and 68% of patients in the first and second period, while indication was missing in 12% and 26% of patients, respectively. AZM was coprescribed on the same day with other antihypertensive drugs in 23% (first period) and 37% (second period) of patients. Drugs that might cause an interaction with AZM were coprescribed on the same day in 3% of patients in both periods; overlapping prescription periods were detected in 14% (first period) and 8% (second period) of patients. Coprescription of AZM with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (2%) or aliskiren (< 1%) on the same day was rare in both periods. Overlapping prescription periods with AZM decreased from 20 to 6% for ACE inhibitors and from 8 to 1% for aliskiren. Conclusion: Findings from this real-world evidence study demonstrate that AZM was generally utilized for approved indication and in accordance with the summary of product characteristics recommendations.