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Antihyperlipidaemic Drugs

Results of a Drug Utilisation Review in the Bologna Area

  • Pharmacoepidemiology
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Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate antihyperlipidaemic drug use in the Bologna region of Italy in relation to gender and age, and to define the patterns of prescription, establish the extent to which drug therapy was continuous, and to investigate self-reported patient compliance with dietary regimens.

Patients and Methods: A questionnaire was administered over a period of 19 days to all individuals purchasing an antihyperlipidaemic drug in a public or private pharmacy. The study included 1999 individuals (1150 females and 844 males; gender was not reported in five cases) with a mean age of 63.68 ± 10.40 years.

Results: Males commenced treatment at a mean age of 57.64 years, and females at a mean age of 62.0 years. The mean treatment duration was 42.82 months in males and 43.46 months in females. Therapy was proposed by general practitioners in 64.2% of patients, by hospital specialists in 28.4%, and by specialists working in private clinics or medical centres in 6.4% (1% of patients asked spontaneously to begin antihyperlipidaemic treatment). A total of 72.4% of patients reported using statins, 22.7% fibrates, 2.8% resins and 2.3% other drugs. Simvastatin was the most frequently prescribed statin (51.0%), followed by pravastatin (16.5%). The most prescribed fibrate was gemfibrozil (13.2%). Males and females used the same drugs except for gemfibrozil, which was more commonly used in males, and pravastatin, which was more frequently used in females. The prescribed daily dose of statins was very close to the defined daily dose, showing a strict adherence to the currently available drug-prescribing recommendations.

Conclusion: This study provided a useful means of investigating the applications of guidelines, particularly with regard to antihyperlipidaemic drug use in coronary heart disease prevention.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the support of Prof. G. Cantelli Forti, Dean of the Pharmacy Faculty, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; the Ordine dei Farmacisti della Provincia di Bologna, Bologna, Italy; Federfarma, Bologna, Italy; and the help of all professionals in the public and private pharmacies in Bologna who actively collected the data upon which this paper was based. This study was funded by the pharmacists’ associations of Bologna.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Atherosclerosis Center ‘G. Descovich’, Clinical Medicine and Applied Biotechnology Department ‘D. Campanacci’, University of Bologna, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Via Massarenti 9, 40138, Bologna, Italy

    A. Gaddi, C. Mussoni, A. F. G. Cicero, D. Favali & S. D’Addato

  2. PBE Consultants, Verona, Italy

    P. Berto

  3. Ordine dei Farmacisti della Provincia di Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    F. Cantagalli

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  1. A. Gaddi
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  2. P. Berto
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  3. C. Mussoni
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  4. A. F. G. Cicero
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  5. D. Favali
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  6. S. D’Addato
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  7. F. Cantagalli
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Correspondence to A. Gaddi.

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Gaddi, A., Berto, P., Mussoni, C. et al. Antihyperlipidaemic Drugs. Clin. Drug Investig. 19, 457–464 (2000). https://doi.org/10.2165/00044011-200019060-00008

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