Impact of the New Guidelines to Prescribe Statins in a University Hospital

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Abstract

Background: The application of the new guidelines for the use of statins has increased the number of new statin prescriptions; however, there are no investigations on this topic in our region.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare in a population consisting of members belonging to a healthcare system, the proportion of persons that would be eligible for statin therapy under the new 2013 ACC-AHA guidelines versus the previous ATP III guidelines.

Methods: The ratio of subjects that would be eligible for statin therapy under both guidelines was analyzed in a simple random sample without replacement, and the results were extrapolated to the entire population of the healthcare system.

Results: A total of 226 patients were analyzed. Applying the ATP-III and the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines, 35.8% and 52.2% of the population was eligible for statin therapy, respectively. The difference was higher in women (18.3%) and in subjects >60 years (27.1%). Applying the new guidelines to the entire hospital population (n=75,139) would imply an increase of 12,323 statin prescriptions. 

Conclusion: The application of the new guidelines was associated with greater potential prescription of statins, particularly among women and older subjects.