Improved survival with continuation of statins in bacteremic patients

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Statin therapy is widely used for cardiovascular disease prevention.
• The impact of statin use on mortality in patients with bacteremia is not fully understood.
• Prior statin exposure may influence outcomes in sepsis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of continuing statin therapy on inpatient mortality in bacteremic patients with prior adherent statin use.
• To determine if maintaining statin treatment post-admission improves survival in this population.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study using linked electronic health record and hospital discharge data (October 2009-March 2013).
• Inclusion criteria: primary bacteremia diagnosis, 6 months enrollment prior, antibiotic use, and 90 days of adherent statin use before admission.
• Comparison between patients continuing statin therapy for at least 5 days post-admission versus those who did not.

Main Results:

• The study included 633 patients, with simvastatin and atorvastatin being the most common statins.
• Propensity score-adjusted analysis revealed significantly lower inpatient mortality in patients who continued statin therapy (adjusted hazard ratio 0.25).
• Continuing statin therapy was associated with a 75% increase in survival.

Conclusions:

• For bacteremic patients with pre-admission statin adherence, continuing statin therapy post-admission is associated with improved survival.
• Maintaining statin use during hospitalization for bacteremia may be a crucial factor in reducing mortality.
• These findings support the continuation of statin therapy in patients with bacteremia and prior adherence.