AN EASY STRATEGY TO MANAGE NIGHT CRAMPS ASSOCIATED TO STATIN ASSUMPTION: RESULTS FROM A REAL PRACTICE STUDY. (June 2018) - Cicero, A. F.G.
Abstract : Objective: Night cramps associated to statin assumption are a relatively frequent adverse event, strongly disturbing and often cause of statin interruption. The aim of our study was to evaluate if the displace of statin assumption from evening (conventional one) to morning has been associated to change in night symptomatology. Design and method: For the purpose of this study, we retrospectively evaluated 3200 ambulatory CRFs. Selection criteria were: patients claiming night cramps since the assumption of statins at evening, modification of the statin prescription (molecule or timing of administration), verification of the symptomatology at a next visit. Results: In total we identified 129 patients claiming cramps from the statin assumption at evening. 64 of them also claimed cramps or myalgia during the day. 68 patients interrupted the treatment. We identified two main management strategy: 62 patients were prescribed the same statin at the same dosage but displacing its assumption at morning (group A). 67 patients were prescribed a different statin (lower power or lower dosage) at evening (group B). The result was that in the group A 53 subjects declared the disappearance of the night cramps, while the remaining 9 ones just a reduction in frequency and intensity (all of these subjects were also claiming daily cramps and/or myalgia). No significant change in LDL-cholesterolemia control was observed. In group B, cramps were maintained (same intensity and frequency) in the 50% of cases (24 of them interrupting again the treatment before the control visit). The ones experiencing a reduction of the symptomatology however also experienced a small but significant increase in LDL-Cholesterol level. Conclusions: In conclusion, shifting the statin assumption from evening to morning time improve symptomatology and persistence in therapy in patients with night cramps related to evening assumption of the statin, without a worsening of the LDL-cholesterol control.