Statin Audit
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An audit of 654 patients aged 40-75 on statins for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease found that the majority had a 10-year CVD risk of less than 20%, suggesting overtreatment with statins. The audit recommends only prescribing statins for primary prevention if a patient's 10-year CVD risk is greater than 20%, as calculated by an established risk calculator, and to document the risk assessment and reasoning in the patient's notes.
Statin Audit
- 1. Audit: use of statins for the primary prevention of CVDJim Hare and Charles Read
- 9. MethodsSearch strategyEveryone on a statinAged 40-75Excluding diabetics, familial hypercholesterolaemiaExcluding those with existing CVDThis returned 654 patients. We took a random sample of 10%
- 10. Assessment of CVD RiSK
- 11. Results12/65 (18%) were not eligible35/53 (66%) had a 10-year CVD risk of <20%14/53 (26%) had a 10-year CVD risk of <20% but >15%12/53 (23%) had a 10-year CVD risk of <10%Smoking status was often difficult to determine
- 12. Take home messagesStatins are good but...They have their side effectsNNT=170 for four yearsIn those without CVD, only start a statin if the 10-year risk is >20%Use an established calculatorRecord your reasoning in the notes (making reference to all risk factors)
Editor's Notes
- This was a meta analysis in the JAMA that showed that statin use was not associated with an increased risk of cancer.