Rhabdomyolysis and statins: A pharmacovigilance comparative study between statins

Abstract

Rhabdomyolysis is a serious adverse drug reaction of statins. There are few studies comparing the risk of rhabdomyolysis between the different statins. Using the WHO pharmacovigilance database, VigiBase®, we compared the risk of rhabdomyolysis reporting of seven statins (atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, pitavastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin and simvastatin, with cerivastatin excluded). All reports of rhabdomyolysis in VigiBase® in adults with statins until 31 December 2022 were included. Results are expressed as reporting odds ratio (ROR, 95% CI). Among 10 657 reports with rhabdomyolysis with statins, simvastatin was the highest risk statin in comparison with others: ROR = 2.20 (2.11–2.29). The risk was higher in men, older than 74 years and in cases of drug interactions.