BACKGROUND: The National Service Framework (NSF) sets standards for the management of @entity712 in the UK. Loop diuretics are commonly first prescribed in primary care. Some @entity1 taking these drugs have @entity712 and may benefit from other treatments including @entity1289 inhibitors. Accurate diagnosis in primary care is essential for the aims of the NSF to be realised. AIMS: To investigate loop diuretic prescribing in general practice, to analyse recorded clinical features, @entity1 investigations and @entity1289 inhibitor use in this population. METHOD: One thousand three hundred and one @entity1 taking loop diuretics were identified from prescription records of seven general practices. Demographic details, clinical features, investigations and drug treatments were extracted from @entity1 records. RESULTS: The prevalence of loop diuretic prescribing increased with age. Twenty percent of @entity1 were attributed a diagnosis of @entity712 but relevant clinical features were recorded in less than 50% of @entity1 records. Open access echocardiography was used in 8.9% of @entity1 . @entity1289 inhibitors were prescribed in 39.8% of @entity1 considered to have @entity712 . 18.2% of these were taking the recommended target dose. CONCLUSION: Loop diuretics are prescribed commonly, particularly in the elderly. There is no clear pattern of documented clinical features that leads to prescription of these drugs. Open access echocardiography is rarely used to aid diagnosis. @entity1289 inhibitors are under-prescribed and under-dosed in @entity1 diagnosed with @entity712 in this study population.

Difficulties of introducing the National Service Framework for XXXX into general practice in the UK.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity712 :: ('MESH:D006333', 'Disease') :: ['heart failure'] @entity1289 :: ('1636', 'Gene') :: ['ACE']
@entity712 :: (MESH:D006333,Disease) :: ['heart failure']
