To what extent do patients in general practice reach guideline lipid-lowering treatment goals?

BACKGROUND: We assessed the extent to which the 1998 European guideline goals were reached among patients on statin treatment. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: A total of 683 consecutive patients on statin treatment were recruited from 48 primary healthcare centres all over Sweden. Serum lipid levels and possible goal-reaching determinants were registered. RESULTS: The treatment goal for total cholesterol was met in 55% of patients and for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in 60% of patients. Male sex and a history of diabetes mellitus or cardiovascular disease increased the likelihood of meeting treatment goals. CONCLUSIONS: More than half of statin-treated Swedish primary care patients reached the treatment goals.

Effect of rosuvastatin or atorvastatin on urinary albumin excretion and renal function in type 2 diabetic patients.

The effect of rosuvastatin or atorvastatin on urinary albumin excretion (UAE) was determined in type 2 diabetic patients. A randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, response-based design compared rosuvastatin 10mg (titrated to 40 mg) with atorvastatin 10mg (titrated to 80 mg) in type 2 diabetic patients with dyslipidemia, with dose titration to an LDL-C target of <3.0 mmol/L. Overnight timed urine collections were obtained at baseline, 8 and 16 weeks to UAE. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was determined using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease formula. Patients with paired, UAE collections of at least 8h duration were analyzed (n=344). No significant change from baseline in UAE was observed for either treatment group or between-treatment groups at 16 weeks, and median UAE for both treatment groups remained within normal limits (rosuvastatin 4.5 microg/min, atorvastatin 5.0 microg/min). A similar absence of change from baseline was observed for 51 patients with UAE above the normal range at study entry (>20 microg/min). No significant change in GFR from baseline after 16 weeks was observed for either treatment group. These data provide reassurance that type 2 diabetic patients can be treated with higher efficacy statins without clinically meaningful effects on urinary albumin excretion.

Comparison of rosuvastatin and atorvastatin for lipid lowering in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: results from the URANUS study.

OBJECTIVE: The Use of Rosuvastatin versus Atorvastatin iN type 2 diabetes mellitUS (URANUS) study compared rosuvastatin with atorvastatin for the reduction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: After a 6-week dietary run-in, patients aged > or = 18 years with type 2 diabetes and LDL-C > or = 3.3 mmol/L were randomised to double-blind treatment with rosuvastatin 10 mg (n = 232) or atorvastatin 10 mg (n = 233) for 4 weeks. Doses were then titrated up to a maximum of rosuvastatin 40 mg or atorvastatin 80 mg over 12 weeks to achieve the 1998 European LDL-C goal (<3.0 mmol/L). RESULTS: Rosuvastatin reduced LDL-C levels significantly more than atorvastatin during the fixed-dose and titration periods (p < 0.0001). Significantly more patients reached the 1998 LDL-C goal with rosuvastatin 10 mg compared with atorvastatin 10 mg at 4 weeks (81% vs 65%, p < 0.001). At 16 weeks, significantly more patients achieved their LDL-C goal with rosuvastatin compared with atorvastatin (94% vs 88%, p < 0.05) and more patients receiving rosuvastatin remained at their starting dose with reduced requirement for dose titration. At 4 weeks, 65% of rosuvastatin patients had reached their 2003 European LDL-C goal (< 2.5 mmol/L), compared with 33% of atorvastatin patients (p < 0.0001). Both treatments were similarly well tolerated with no unexpected safety concerns. CONCLUSION: At the start dose and following dose titration, rosuvastatin was significantly more effective than atorvastatin at reducing LDL-C and achieving European LDL-C goals in patients with type 2 diabetes.

[Liver dialysis using MARS in acute hepatic failure. Promising results in a pilot setting]. / Leverdialys med MARS vid akut leversvikt. Lovande resultat i pilotverksamhet.

Acute hepatic failure (AHF) is a life threatening condition with a high mortality rate. There is a need to buy time, either waiting for the liver to regenerate or waiting for urgent liver transplantation. Different modalities of "liver dialysis" have been used during the last decades but of no true success. However, a new technique has been developed called the MARS (Molecular Adsorbent Recycling System) built upon the same principle as haemodialysis but with the capacity to also remove albumin bound compounds thought to be toxic to the liver. This is a report of our ten first cases, all having AHF and considered for liver transplantation. The survival rate was 7/10 and of the 5 patients in need of 5 or more treatments all but one survived. In these cases the MARS-treatment seemed to have positive effects on the course and outcome of the disease but there are a need for controlled trials to clearly prove the benefit of the treatment.