Safety Of Coadministration Of Ezetimibe And Statins In Patients With Hypercholesterolaemia: A Meta-analysis

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the safety of coadministration of ezetimibe and statins in patients with hypercholesterolaemia.Method: We searched three electronic databases(Pub Med,EMBASE and Cochrane Library) from January 2002 to October 2014. Two independent reviewers critically identified randomised controlled trials(RCTs), extracted the data and assessed trial quality. The odds ratio(OR)were evaluated by fixed-effects models and statistical analysis was performed by Software Review Manager 5.2.Results: A total of 20 studies were included in this meta-analysis,including 14856 patients. Comparing the safety of coadministration of ezetimibe and statins with statins alone: there was no difference with the incidence of total adverse events(OR=0.95; 95%CI [0.85-1.0]; P=0.34).Both treatment had similar incidence of discontinuation(OR=1.15; 95%CI[0.92-1.44]; P=0.22). There was no difference with the incidence of serious adverse events(OR=1.04; 95%CI [0.75-1.45]; P=0.81). There was no significant difference with the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse events(OR=1.26; 95%CI [0.97-1.63]; P=0.08). Both treatment had similar incidence of allergic reactions(OR=0.74; 95%CI [0.41-1.35]; P=0.33).There was no difference with the incidence of CK>10 × upper limit of normal(ULN)(OR=1.07; 95%CI [0.51-2.23]; P=0.86). There was no significant difference with the incidence of ALT >3 × ULN(OR=1.01;95%CI [0.58-1.77]; P=0.96). Also, both treatment had similar incidence of AST >3×ULN(OR=1.21; 95%CI [0.61-2.39]; P=0.16). There was no significant difference between two groups.Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggested that the incidence of adverse events between ezetimibe–statin combination therapy and statin monotherapy were similar, there was no significant difference between the groups.