Antihypertensive profile in COVID-19 patients at emergency field hospital Surabaya, Indonesia

Background: Case fatality rates for COVID-19 patients with hypertension have reached up to 14%. Using ACEi and ARB reduces ACE and increases ACE2 expression, which theoretically can mediate SARS-CoV-2 invasion and infection. Objective: This study examines the profile of hypertension therapy, time to reduce blood pressure, and length of stay. Method: A retrospective cross-sectional observational study was undertaken. Data were collected from patients' medical records using a consecutive and time-limited sampling method. Result: 222 patients were involved in this study. The most widely used antihypertensive monotherapy is oral amlodipine (1x5 mg) 51.35%, and combination therapy with oral amlodipine (1x10 mg) plus candesartan (1x8 mg) 8.11%. The mean time to reduce blood pressure was 5.96 and 6.67 days, and the mean length of stay was 5.99 and 6.67 days. Correlation analysis on the rate of decrease in blood pressure with length of stay showed significance (p = 0.000 < 0.05) with a positive Spearman correlation (0.992), which showed a very strong correlation. Conclusion: Antihypertensive therapy in this study was following existing guidelines. The time to reduce blood pressure was proportional to the length of stay, so hypertension is vital to control to support the improvement of the patient's clinical condition.