Approximate equivalent rosuvastatin doses for temporary statin interchange programs

To estimate approximate doses of rosuvastatin equivalent to the other hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) for a temporary substitution program.

A literature search was conducted to locate clinical trials directly comparing rosuvastatin with other statins that evaluated the magnitude of cholesterol lowering.

The mean low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol values from the clinical trials were assessed. Study results indicate that rosuvastatin is not equivalent to other statins on a milligram-to-milligram basis.

Rosuvastatin appears to be at least 2 and 4 times as potent as atorvastatin and simvastatin, respectively, and at least 8 times as potent as pravastatin and lovastatin.