These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Low myopathy rates associated with statins as monotherapy or combination therapy with interacting drugs in a group model health maintenance organization.
    Author: Shanahan RL, Kerzee JA, Sandhoff BG, Carroll NM, Merenich JA.
    Journal: Pharmacotherapy; 2005 Mar; 25(3):345-51. PubMed ID: 15843281.
    Abstract:
    STUDY OBJECTIVE: Because the risk for myopathy increases when 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A inhibitors (statins) are used with other agents known to inhibit cytochrome P450 3A4 in patients with dyslipidemia, we sought to quantify this risk in a diverse, real-world sample of patients receiving statin therapy. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. SETTING: Kaiser Permanente Colorado (KPCO), a group model health maintenance organization with approximately 360,000 members. PATIENTS: Four hundred sixty-eight patients who were identified as having a diagnosis of myopathy over a 4-year period using KPCO computerized data systems. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Medical records were reviewed to confirm myopathy cases associated with statin therapy. Of the 468 patients, 61 had received statin therapy before their diagnosis, and 41 (67%) of these patients had confirmed myopathy (documented creatine kinase level>or=1000 IU/L). The prevalence of myopathy was 0.12% with statin monotherapy and 0.22% with statins in combination with interacting drugs. Only 17 of the 41 (41%) patients had confirmed myopathy with no other plausible clinical explanation, such as a muscle injury. Increased risk of myopathy associated with statin therapy in combination with interacting drugs approached statistical significance (p=0.052) but was of minimal clinical significance. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of confirmed myopathy in patients receiving statin therapy is low (<1%). Combining statin therapy with interacting drugs (e.g., fibrates) was not associated with a clinically important increase in the prevalence of myopathy. The risk of developing myopathy during statin therapy is outweighed by the benefits derived from the therapeutic effects of the therapy.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]