PCV22 - LIPID-LOWERING DRUG PRESCRIPTIONS IN A GROUP OF COLOMBIAN PATIENTS.

Abstract

Lipid-lowering drugs, especially statins, have shown great relevance in preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases. Their usage profiles can vary considerably over time with changes in approved molecules, in the health system or clinical guidelines. The objective was to determine the prescription patterns of lipid-lowering drugs and the variables associated with their use in a Colombian population. Cross-sectional descriptive study. From a drug-dispensing database of approximately 4.5 million Colombian health system affiliates, patients of all ages and both sexes treated with lipid-lowering agents (statins, fibrates, ezetimibe) were identified during January-March 2017. Demographic, pharmacological and co-medication variables were included. In total, 103,624 patients were identified as being treated with lipid-lowering agents. The average age was 67.5 years, and 49.8% were 65 years or older. Women comprised 58.0% of the patients. Statins were the most used (n = 96.910; 93.5%), and atorvastatin (n = 80.812; 78.0%) and lovastatin (n = 12.621; 12.2%) were the most frequent. The average atorvastatin dose was 30.3 mg/day, and 49.9% of its users received presentations of 40 mg or more. A total of 9,258 (8.9%) patients received fibrates, and only 780 (0.8%) were taking ezetimibe. Of this population, 94.9% were treated with lipid-lowering monotherapy, and 97.3% (n = 100,813) had co-medication for their comorbidities, with the most frequent being antihypertensive (89.1%), antiplatelet (57.8%), antidiabetic (31.5%) and antiulcerative agents (34.2%). Atorvastatin is currently the most frequently used lipid-lowering drug in this group of Colombian patients, especially in monotherapy and at doses close to the defined daily dose. Only half received high-intensity doses. New studies are required to verify the efficacy of these therapies.