[Safety and efficacy of pitavastatin in patients with hypercholesterolemia: a multicenter study].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of pitavastatin in patients with hypercholesterolemia in China under conditions of extensive usage.


METHODS
This was a 12-week, multicenter, open-label, without parallel-group comparison, phase IV clinical trial.


RESULTS
There were 427 subjects in the safety set. The adverse events mainly included vomiting, myalgia and the elevations of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) and creatine kinase (CK), etc. The incidence of drug-related adverse events was 4.22%. There were no significant differences between pre-exposure and post-exposure average levels of renal function indicators and blood routine examination item (all P > 0.05). None of them had a high AST/ALT value, i.e. > 3 times upper limits of normal (ULN), or had a high CK value, i.e. > 10 times ULN. There were 397 subjects in the per protocol set. At week 12 post-treatment, the blood levels of total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in subjects without previous treatment decreased 24.6% and 31.0% respectively, that of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in subjects with HDL-C < 1.04 mmol/L increased 60.1% while that of triglyceride (TG) in subjects with TG > 1.70 mmol/L decreased 22.5% (P < 0.05). And 207 (92.3%) subjects were at a low risk, 46 (76.1%) subjects at an intermediate risk, 134 (47.8%) subjects at a high risk and 10 (40.0%) of subjects at a very high risk had achieved a LDL-C target value; the LDL-C goal achievement rate after switching from previous medication to pitavastatin was significant higher than that of pre-switching.


CONCLUSIONS
Pitavastatin demonstrates positive safety and efficacy. It may be used for the treatment of patients with hypercholesterolemia in China.
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, China.
Yong
Y
Mao
Jin-ming
JM
Yu
Yi-qiang
YQ
Zhan
Da-yi
DY
Hu
Rong-jing
RJ
Ding
Fen
F
Zhang
She-chang
SC
Li
Qun-yu
QY
Kong
Fan-li
FL
Lin
Gong-xian
GX
Jia
D000368:Aged; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011804:Quinolines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D011804:Quinolines; C108475:pitavastatin