Utilization and Adherence to Guidelines Recommended for Use of Statins in the Management of Hypercholesterolemia and Their Cost Utility Analysis

Abstract

Objective: The study was aimed to evaluate utilization and adherence to guidelines recommended in the use of statins for management of cholesterol and their cost utility analysis in a clinical setting in Saudi Arabia. Materials: A cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted in a private hospital in Saudi Arabia. World Health Organization (WHO) Defined Daily Dose (DDD) was used to compute the Daily price of each statins.  Results: The utilization of statins is higher in males, Saudis and people with the age group 40-59 as compared to females or non-Saudis or other age groups. Over all, Atorvastatin was the most preferred statin therapy followed by Rosuvastatin, Simvastatin and Fluvastatin. The average cost unit wise was found to be highest for Atorvastatin SR 5.58 (USD 1.49) being lowest for Rosuvastatin SR 4.02 (USD1.07). Conclusion: The study aimed to evaluate the use of statins for management of cholesterol is found to be consistent with international guidelines given by ACC/AHS. Our study suggests having further research to fully understand the barriers to guideline adherence to have improved utilization and considerably neutral cost effects of statins for all.