Monitoring Adverse Drug Reactions and Incidence of Potential Statin-Drug Interactions

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are the first disease in Albania that caused mortality and morbidity according to the Public Health Institute the Statistical Institute of Albania.[1,2] Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors (known as statins) are widely used as lipid-lowering drugs. They caused adverse events such as myotoxicity, renal, and hepatic problems which are considerably elevated in combination with other drugs. Drug–drug interactions (DDIs) can result in a change in either drug efficacy or toxicity. The value of therapy is defined by ineffectiveness or increased toxicity. Statins are the therapeutic class of medicines that reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.[3,4] Adverse events caused by DDI with clinical significance are preventable. DDIs involving statins include individual pharmacokinetics characteristics (e.g., binding affinity, half-life, dose of medications, and timing and sequence of administration duration of therapy) patients’ factors (e.g., age, sex, lifestyle, disease implicating metabolism hepatic, renal impairments and cardiac failure), genetic polymorphism, hypersensitivity, etc. Physicians choose a noninteracting alternative, but if none is available, they prescribe in combination by evaluating the benefits and risks of the co‐commitment of medications.[5,6]