Effectiveness and Safety of Fenofibrate in Routine Treatment of Patients with Hypertriglyceridemia and Metabolic...

Background: Multiple trials have demonstrated the efficacy of fenofibrate for the management of dyslipidemia. Real-world evidence may provide important insights into the effectiveness and safety of fenofibrate in patients with metabolic syndrome and elevated triglyceride (TG) levels, but such evidence is currently scarce.

A non-interventional study was conducted among routine healthcare providers. Patients with TG levels of >2.3 mmol/L on stable statin therapy starting fenofibrate treatment were enrolled. Data on medical history, fenofibrate treatment, change in lipid levels, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were collected from medical records every 3 months for 6 to 7 months of observation.

Overall, 988 patients receiving fenofibrate were enrolled (median age [95% CI] 60 [26.0-86.0] years), and 46.4% of the participants were females. Most patients had concomitant cardiovascular disease. A baseline TG level of 3.6 ± 1.5 mmol/L was reduced by 50.1% to 1.7 ± 0.58 mmol/L at 6 months of treatment (p < 0.001). Baseline non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) levels decreased by 33.7% at 6 months. Total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein levels by the end of follow-up were reduced by 24.7 and 25.5% (p < 0.001 for both). C-reactive protein level decreased more than 39% from baseline.

Fenofibrate in a real-world setting significantly reduced TG, LDL-C, and non-HDL-C levels. In addition, a C-reactive protein level reduction of 39% was achieved.