Ito - Figure 6 - Fluvastatin, ezetimibe, and the combination
This Figure shows the situation where patients have muscle-related adverse events with
statins. A possible first option is to switch these patients to a different statin; in this case,
this study[25] investigated the tolerability of daily
- fluvastatin extended-release (XL) 80 mg alone,
- ezetimibe alone,
- the combination of fluvastatin plus ezetimibe
in patients with a history of muscle-related adverse effects on previous statin therapy.
This was a double-blind double-dummy trial that enrolled 199 patients. In the bar
graph on the left-hand side of the Figure, progressive improvement can be seen in all
the lipid indices as the groups move from ezetimibe to fluvastatin to the combination;
however, more important, on the right-hand side of the Figure, 8 out of 10 patients
tolerated fluvastatin XL. This is especially noteworthy, remembering that these patients
previously had muscle-related side effects to other statins, and only about 4% of these
patients had to discontinue fluvastatin due to adverse drug reactions. So, this is another
strategy for patients who are intolerant to previous statin use.
Ito MK.
J Clin Lipidol.
2011; 5(6).
Complete references for all slides
References
[25]Stein EA, Ballantyne CM, Windler E, et al. Efficacy and Tolerability of Fluvastatin XL
80 mg Alone, Ezetimibe Alone, and the Combination of Fluvastatin XL 80 mg With
Ezetimibe in Patients With a History of Muscle-Related Side Effects With Other Statins.
Am J Cardiol 2007;101:490-496.
