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Published on: November 17, 2018
Daily dosing versus alternate-day dosing of simvastatin in patients with hypercholesterolemia
Heather R Copher1, Robert D Stewart
1Department of Pharmacy, Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Florida 33744, USA.
Study Objective:
To compare the efficacy of daily simvastatin administration with that of alternate-day therapy at double the daily dose.
Design:
Nonrandomized, before-after comparison trial.
Setting:
Outpatient clinic of a Veterans Affairs medical center.
Patients:
Fifteen men with hyperlipidemia.
Intervention:
The simvastatin regimen for patients with a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) level at their established National Cholesterol Education Program goal was converted from daily dosing to double the daily dose given every other day for 8 weeks.
Measurements And Main Results:
Baseline laboratory values were obtained for patients receiving daily simvastatin therapy After 8 weeks of alternate-day therapy, follow-up laboratory values were obtained and assessed for efficacy and toxicity. The LDL-lowering effect of the daily dosing regimen was compared with that of the alternate-day dosing regimen. Paired t tests were computed to compare LDL concentrations before and after the study using a 95% confidence interval. No statistically significant difference was observed.
Conclusion:
Alternate-day dosing of simvastatin may be an effective alternative to daily dosing.
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