Study shows risk of acute pancreatitis low with statinsJanuary 02, 2007WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - New research reveals that while cholesterol-lowering drugs do increase the risk of painful inflammation of the pancreas, the side effect is relatively rare, according to Sonal Singh, M.D., from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and colleagues. "Acute pancreatitis is a fairly common condition and cholesterol-lowering drugs have been implicated in some cases," said Singh. "Since millions of people around the world take these drugs, our aim was to quantify the risk." The study, reported in the current issue of Drug Safety, is the first to estimate the risk of pancreatitis from drugs such as Lipitor® and Pravachol®, known as statins. Researchers found that while the drugs increased the risk of pancreatitis by 40 percent - the occurrence is still fairly rare. Out of every 300,000 people taking the drugs for a year, only one would be expected to develop the condition. "Nevertheless, there are likely to be many millions of people on long-term statins, which means that scores of patients will face the serious complications of acute pancreatitis," said Singh. Singh said the safety of commonly used medications has come under scrutiny because of post-marketing discoveries that some drugs, such as Vioxx®, have potentially dangerous side effects. He said that drugs are initially tested in studies involving small numbers of carefully selected patients and that some side effects may not show up until millions of people begin taking them.
Singh's evidence-based study reviewed 33 spontaneous reports of statin induced pancreatitis from the Canadian Adverse Drug Event Monitoring System and 20 published case reports. They also pooled the results from two observational studies on the association between statins and pancreatitis. "We found that all statins can cause pancreatitis, so switching from one to another will not help," said Singh. "The data also suggest that pancreatitis can occur after several months of statin use, suggesting that this is usually not an immediate reaction. We also found both that patients on both low and high doses developed pancreatitis. Hence starting at a low dose of statin may not be sufficient to prevent the side effect of pancreatitis." Other findings were that even patients on low doses were susceptible to developing the adverse effect early on, but that those on high doses weren't susceptible to developing the reaction any earlier, suggesting that pancreatitis doesn't result from a cumulative dose of statins. Also, in most cases of pancreatitis associated with statins, the reaction is mild and only five deaths have been reported. Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas, a large gland behind the stomach and close to the upper part of the small intestine, which secretes digestive enzymes. Acute pancreatitis is usually caused by gallstones or by drinking too much alcohol, but in many cases, the cause is not known. The painful condition often begins in the upper abdomen and may last for a few days. Acute pancreatitis can be a severe, life-threatening illness with many complications. About 80,000 cases occur in the United States each year. Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Related Pancreatitis News Articles Cellular self-eating promotes pancreatitis To survive tough times, cells sometimes resort to a form of self-cannibalism called autophagy. But as Hashimoto et al. reveal, autophagy can have a down side, destroying the pancreas by prematurely activating a digestive enzyme. Gene Therapy Could Save Kids From a Lifetime of Eating Cornstarch A gene therapy treatment that restores a missing liver enzyme in test animals could provide a cure for a rare metabolic disorder in humans, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers. Combined stenting and photodynamic therapy improves survival in late stage liver cancer patients A combined therapeutic approach of stenting and photodynamic therapy may improve survival rates for patients suffering from advanced liver bile duct cancer, according to a study published this month in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. Early surgical treatment contributes to better outcomes in gallstone pancreatitis cases Although delaying surgical treatment remains the standard of care for patients with severe gallstone pancreatitis, a new study published in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that, contrary to widespread belief, early cholecystectomy -- or surgical removal of the gallbladder -- significantly reduces hospital stays in patients with mild to moderate gallstone pancreatitis with no increase in complications or mortality. The most important candidate genes for pancreatic stone formation Stone formation is an important feature of chronic pancreatitis, especially tropical calcific pancreatitis (TCP), where the stones are large in size, highly irregular in shape and cause enormous tissue destruction. Antegrade bowel intussusception can cause recurrent, chronic postoperative intestinal obstruction Several complications can be seen after pancreatic surgery, most notably bleeding, infections and anastomotic dehiscence. Bowel obstruction can also be seen due to internal hernias or anastomotic strictures. A more unusual etiology for bowel obstruction in this setting is intussusception. Large dose dexamethasone plays important roles in severe acute pancreatitis Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is a fatal systemic disease featuring acute onset, serious conditions, high incidence of complications and 20 - 30% mortality, mainly due to multiple organ failure at its early stage. Exclusion of common bile duct stones prior to gallstone operations CBDS occur in 7-20% of all patients undergoing a gallstone operation and may complicate the course of surgery. Although intraoperative x-ray investigation was routinely performed to diagnose CBDS in the pre-laparoscopic era, its use during the laparoscopic era has been debated. Acute pancreatitis and cholangitis: a complication caused by a migrated gastrostomy tube Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is generally considered to be safe with a low rate of serious complications. However, dislocation of a gastrostomy tube can lead to serious complications. Short-term hemofiltration is cost-effective for severe acute pancreatitis Early nasogastric enteral nutrition is a breakthrough in the management of severe acute pancreatitis. From meta-analysis based on current available clinical studies early nasogastric enteral nutrition appeared effective and safe in clinical practice. More Pancreatitis News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||