Evaluating the Potential Statin-Drug Interactions among Older Patients with Chronic Diseases in Sana’a City, Yemen

Abstract

Background: Individuals aged more than 55 years may be more likely to experience chronic diseases and are treated with multiple concomitant medications. This may result in drug-drug interactions (DDIs) that are often not considered in clinical practice settings. Statins are effective in older patients with or at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and are prescribed on a regular basis for a long term and may undergo DDIs. The risk of DDIs varies among statins, and prevalence and severity levels of statin-drug interactions are important in older patients with chronic conditions on concomitant drugs. Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence and severity of the potential statin-drug interactions among older adult patients (55 years or older) who have received statin therapy at hospital discharge for a period of 18 months from January 2021 to June 2022 in Sana’a city. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a hospital in Sana’a city from January 2021 to June 2022. Data collection was from the electronic medical records (covering demographic, clinical, and drug-therapy-related variables). The format was also filled with; BP, Sr.cr, HbA1c, HR, Total cholesterol, TG, LDL, HDL, AST, and ALT values for each patient. Drug interactions were identified using both Medscape and Lexicomp software. Results: Out of 200 patients, there were 175 (87.5%) individuals had a total of 865 clinically significant drug-drug interactions. specifically speaking, 55 (27.5%) individuals had a total of 72 clinically significant statin-drug interactions. 57 (79.1%) of which were category C, 14 (19.44%) of which were category D, and only 1 (1.39%) category X statin-drug interaction. There was also an association between advanced age, co-morbidities, and concomitant drugs with the presence of statin-drug interaction. Conclusion: It can be concluded from this study, that statin medications have a significant prevalence among elderlies due to the presence of multiple co-morbidities and subsequently the concomitant use of multiple medications. It was also noticed that category C statin-drug interactions were the most common and then followed by category D statin-drug interactions.