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The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7188 p325-328
9 March 2002

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CHD

Are statins really for everybody?

From Ms P. H. Brompton, MRPharmS

May I draw attention to the full-page advertisement for Lipitor (PJ, 26 January, facing p84) which opens in bold type "All patients at high risk of CHD benefit from statins".

The Medicines Control Agency's Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance (August 2001) draws attention not only to the withdrawal of Lipobay but states that all statins have been associated with a risk of muscle disorders including myopathy and rhabdomyolysis.

The British National Formulary under "side effects" includes a counselling statement, "advise patients to report promptly unexplained muscle pain, tenderness and weakness".

Deaths attributable to Lipobay notified to the Committee on Safety of Medicines have almost doubled since last year, and the CSM has all the statins under review.

My late father was prescribed a statin (Lipitor) last year and experienced intense muscular pain and elevated temperature two hours after the first dose. The matter was reported to Warner Lambert and the CSM.

Could Warner Lambert therefore justify the words "all patients benefit" in this advertisement? Perhaps many patients do, but certainly not all.

Pamela H. Brompton
York

Dr DAVID GILLEN (Pfizer Pharmaceutical Group) replies:

We acknowledge Ms Brompton's comments on this advertisement, which Pfizer has now withdrawn from circulation. By the statement "All patients at high risk of CHD benefit from statins", we were particularly referring to the reduction of cholesterol in such patients. However, we understand that such statements may be open to misinterpretation.

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