Changes in Target Achievement Rates after Statin Prescription Changes at a Single University Hospital

Background: We investigated the changes in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) target achievement rates (<70 and <100 mg/dL) when the prescription changed from various statins to Lipilou®, a generic formulation of atorvastatin. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who had been prescribed Lipilou® for more than 3 months at Seoul National University Hospital from 2012 to 2018. For patients who were treated with a previous statin before the prescription of Lipilou®, changes in target achievement rates of LDL-C less than 70 and less than 100 mg/dL were confirmed 3–6 months after the prescription of Lipilou®. Results: Among the 683 enrolled patients, when their prescription was changed to Lipilou®, the target achievement rate of LDL-C significantly increased for LDL-C less than 70 mg/dL (from 22.1% to 66.2%, p<0.001) and less than 100 mg/dL (from 26.8% to 75.3%, p<0.001). In particular, when a moderate-low potency statin was changed to Lipilou® (10 mg), the target achievement rates for LDL-C less than 70 mg/dL (from 28.9% to 66.7%, p<0.001) and less than 100 mg/dL (from 42.2% to 86.7%, p<0.001) significantly increased. The change from a moderate-high potency statin to Lipilou® (20 mg) showed an increased target achievement rates for LDL-C <70 mg/dL (from 33.3% to 80.0%, p=0.008) and 100 mg/dL (from 40.0% to 73.3%, p<0.025). Conclusions: We cannot simply conclude that Lipilou® is superior to other statins. However, when the target LDL-C was not reached with previous statin treatments, a high target achievement rate could be achieved by changing the prescription to Lipilou®. Physicians should always consider aggressive statin prescription changes for high target achievement rates.