National trends in the emergency department management of adult patients with elevated blood pressure from 2005 to 2015

Emergency department (ED)-based screening and referral of patients with elevated blood pressure (BP) are recommended by 2006 and 2013 American College of Emergency Physicians guidelines; however, it is unknown if these recommendations or disparities in care impact clinical practice. The objectives of the study were to assess temporal trends in antihypertensive prescriptions, outpatient follow-up referrals, and diagnosis of hypertension (HTN)/elevated BP and to identify potential disparities by patient characteristics. Using the 2005–2015 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, we examined the frequency and trends over time of antihypertensive prescriptions, outpatient follow-up referrals, and BP diagnoses for US ED visits by adult patients with an elevated triage BP and identified potential disparities in management by patient demography and socioeconomic status. Of the 594 million eligible ED visits by patients from 2005 to 2015, 1.2% (1.0%–1.4%) received antihypertensive prescriptions at discharge, 82.3% (80.0%–83.6%) outpatient follow-up referrals, and 2.1% (1.9%–2.4%) an HTN/elevated BP diagnosis. There were small annual increases over time in the odds of antihypertensive prescriptions at discharge (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.05 [1.00–1.10]), follow-up referrals (aOR 1.04 [1.01–1.07]), and HTN/elevated BP diagnosis (aOR 1.05 [1.02–1.08]). For BPs ≥160/100 mm Hg, prescriptions were more common for Blacks (aOR 2.36 [1.93, 2.88]) and uninsured patients (aOR 1.81 [1.38, 2.38]), and diagnoses were more common for Blacks (aOR 1.95 [1.70, 2.24]) and uninsured patients (aOR 1.30 [1.09, 1.55]). These data suggest little change in and the need for improvement in the management of ED patients with elevated BP, despite the American College of Emergency Physicians guidelines, and raise concern about patient care disparities.