Indications
Pharmacology
Dosage
Before treatment initiation the patient should be placed on a standard cholesterol-lowering diet that should continue during treatment. The dose should be individualized according to the goal of therapy and patient response, using current consensus guidelines.
Treatment of hypercholesterolemia: Patient of Asian origin or with risk factors for myopathy or rhabdomyolysis: initially 5 mg once daily increased if necessary to max. 20 mg daily.
Prevention of cardiovascular events: Patient of Asian origin or with risk factors for myopathy or rhabdomyolysis: initially 5 mg once daily increased if necessary to max. 20 mg daily.
Pediatric Use (Hyperlipidemia including familial hypercholesterolemia):
- Child younger than 6 years: not recommended.
- Child 6–9 years: initially 5 mg daily, increased if necessary at intervals of at least 4 weeks to usual max. 10 mg once daily.
- Child 10–18 years: initially 5 mg daily, increased if necessary at intervals of at least 4 weeks to usual max. 20 mg once daily.
[Reduced dose required with concomitant atazanavir, darunavir, ezetimibe, fibrate, itraconazole, lopinavir, or tipranavir]Use in the elderly (>70 years): A start dose of 5 mg is recommended. No dose adjustment necessary.
Renal insufficiency:Â Initially 5mg once daily (do not exceed 20 mg daily) if eGFR is 30-60 mL/minute/1.73 m2. Avoid if eGFR is less than 30 mL/minute/1.73 m2
Hepatic impairment:
- Child-Pugh scores of <7: no increase in systemic exposure to rosuvastatin.
- Child-Pugh scores of 8 and 9: increased systemic exposure has been observed. In these patients an assessment of renal function should be considered.
- Child-Pugh scores >9: no study.
Rosuvastatin is contraindicated in patients with active liver disease.
Race: Increased systemic exposure has been seen in Asian subjects. The recommended starting dose is 5 mg for patients of Asian ancestry. The 40 mg dose is contraindicated in these patients.
Genetic polymorphisms: Specific types of genetic polymorphisms are known that can lead to increased rosuvastatin exposure. For patients who are known to have such specific types of polymorphisms, a lower daily dose of Rosuvastatin is recommended.
Dosage in patients with pre-disposing factors to myopathy: The recommended starting dose is 5 mg in patients with predisposing factors to myopathy. The 40 mg dose is contraindicated in some of these patients.
Administration
Interaction
Cyclosporine: Cyclosporine increased rosuvastatin exposure (AUC) 7-fold. Therefore, in patients taking cyclosporine, the dose of Rosuvastatin should not exceed 5 mg once daily.
Gemfibrozil: Gemfibrozil significantly increased rosuvastatin exposure. Due to an observed increased risk of myopathy/rhabdomyolysis, combination therapy with Rosuvastatin and gemfibrozil should be avoided. If used together, the dose of Rosuvastatin should not exceed 10 mg once daily.
Protease Inhibitors: Coadministration of rosuvastatin with certain protease inhibitors has differing effects on rosuvastatin exposure. Simeprevir, which is a hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor, or combinations of atazanavir/ritonavir or lopinavir/ritonavir, which are HIV-1 protease inhibitors, increase rosuvastatin exposure (AUC) up to threefold. For these protease inhibitors, the dose of Rosuvastatin should not exceed 10 mg once daily. The combinations of fosamprenavir / ritonavir or tipranavir / ritonavir, which are HIV 1 protease inhibitors, produce little or no change in rosuvastatin exposure. Caution should be exercised when rosuvastatin is coadministered with protease inhibitors.
Coumarin Anticoagulants: Rosuvastatin significantly increased INR in patients receiving coumarin anticoagulants. Therefore, caution should be exercised when coumarin anticoagulants are given in conjunction with Rosuvastatin. In patients taking coumarin anticoagulants and Rosuvastatin concomitantly, INR should be determined before starting Rosuvastatin and frequently enough during early therapy to ensure that no significant alteration of INR occurs.
Niacin: The risk of skeletal muscle effects may be enhanced when Rosuvastatin is used in combination with lipid-modifying doses (>1 g/day) of niacin; caution should be used when prescribing with Rosuvastatin.
Fenofibrate: When Rosuvastatin was coadministered with fenofibrate, no clinically significant increase in the AUC of rosuvastatin or fenofibrate was observed. Because it is known that the risk of myopathy during treatment with statins is increased with concomitant use of fenofibrates, caution should be used when prescribing fenofibrates with Rosuvastatin.
Colchicine: Cases of myopathy, including rhabdomyolysis, have been reported with statins, including rosuvastatin, coadministered with colchicine, and caution should be exercised when prescribing Rosuvastatin with colchicine
Contraindications
Rosuvastatin is contraindicated:
- In patients with hypersensitivity to rosuvastatin or to any of the excipients.
- In patients with active liver disease including unexplained, persistent elevations of serum transaminases and any serum transaminase elevation exceeding 3 x the upper limit of normal (ULN).
- In patients with severe renal impairment (creatinine clearance < mL/minute/1.73m2).
- In patients with myopathy.
- In patients receiving concomitant cyclosporine.
- During pregnancy and lactation and in women of childbearing potential not using appropriate contraceptive measures.
Side Effects
Common or very common: Proteinuria.
Rare: Hepatitis, jaundice.
Very rare: Gynecomastia, hematuria, hepati failure, interstitial lung disease, lupus erythematosus-like reactions, pancreatitis.
Frequency not known: Alopecia, altered liver function tests, amnesia, arthralgia, asthenia, depression, dizziness, edema, fatigue, gastrointestinal disturbances, headache, hypersensitivity reactions, hyperglycemia -may be associated with the development of diabetes mellitus (particularly in those already at risk of the condition), myalgia, myopathy, myositis, paresthesia, peripheral neuropathy, pruritus, rash, rhabdomyolysis, sexual dysfunction, sleep disturbance, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, thrombocytopenia, urticaria, visual disturbance.
Muscle effects: The risk of myopathy, myositis, and rhabdomyolysis associated with statin use is rare. Although myalgia has been reported commonly in patients receiving statins, muscle toxicity truly attributable to statin use is rare. Muscle toxicity can occur with all statins, however the likelihood increases with higher doses If muscular symptoms or raised creatine kinase occur during treatment, other possible causes (e.g. rigorous physical activity, hypothyroidism, infection, recent trauma, and drug or alcohol addiction) should be excluded before statin therapy is implicated, particularly if statin treatment has previously been tolerated for more than 3 months. When a statin is suspected to be the cause of myopathy, and creatine kinase concentration is markedly elevated (more than 5 times upper limit of normal), or if muscular symptoms are severe, treatment should be discontinued. If symptoms resolve and creatine kinase concentrations return to normal, the statin should be reintroduced at a lower dose and the patient monitored closely; an alternative statin should be prescribed if unacceptable side-effects are experienced with a particular statin. Statins should not be discontinued in the event of small, asymptomatic elevations of creatine kinase. Routine monitoring of creatine kinase is unnecessary in asymptomatic patients.
Statins should not be discontinued if there is an increase in the blood-glucose concentration or HbA1C as the benefits continue to outweigh the risks.
Interstitial lung disease: If patients develop symptoms such as dyspnoea, cough, and weight loss, they should seek medical attention.
Pregnancy & Lactation
Pregnancy Category X. Teratogenic effects. Rosuvastatin is contraindicated in pregnancy and lactation. Women of child bearing potential should use appropriate contraceptive measures. If a patient becomes pregnant during use of this product, treatment should be discontinued immediately.
Rosuvastatin is excreted in the milk of rats. There are no data with respect to excretion in milk in humans
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.