Safety profile of atorvastatin-treated patients with low LDL-cholesterol levels

Data pooled from 21 atorvastatin clinical trials have been analyzed to establish the safety of reducing low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels below currently recommended minimum targets in hypercholesterolemic patients. Safety data for atorvastatin-treated patients with at least one LDL-C value < or =80 mg/dl (2.1 mmol/l) (n = 319) during treatment (mean LDL-C level throughout treatment was 91 mg/dl [2.4 mmol/l]) were compared to those from all atorvastatin-treated patients (n = 2502) and patients treated with lovastatin, simvastatin or pravastatin (n = 742). The frequency of treatment-associated adverse events (AEs) in the atorvastatin LDL-C < or =80 mg/dl (2.1 mmol/l) subgroup (24%) was comparable to the frequencies observed for all atorvastatin-treated patients (20%) and for patients receiving the other statins (24%). Patient withdrawals due to treatment-associated AEs (constipation, dyspepsia and flatulence being the most common) were consistent and low across treatment groups. No treatment-associated deaths occurred in any group. Safety data for 21 atorvastatin-treated patients with LDL-C < or =50 mg/dl (1.3 mmol/l) were also analyzed and found to be similar to all atorvastatin-treated patients and patients treated with the other statins. While recognizing the short-term nature of the data (all patients who received atorvastatin were treated for < or =1 year and approximately 30% were treated for < or =6 months), this analysis suggests that reducing LDL-C levels below 80 (2.1 mmol/l) or 50 mg/dl (1.3 mmol/l) with atorvastatin does not alter its safety profile, as measured by frequency of AEs, which remains similar to those of other statins.