Pharmaco-economic optimization of cholesterol-lowering treatment with statins

Current guidelines for the management of hypercholesterolemia identify LDL cholesterol (LDL-c) reduction as the primary therapeutic target and have highlighted the need to use statins to achieve it. There are six statins with four different doses and with different power-reducing LDL-c. By adding ezetimibe, there are 48 therapeutic possibilities. This extensive offer provides pharmaceutical treatment, but it is difficult to choose the most cost-effective statin because it is very difficult to remember all the powers and costs of treatment options. This paper offers a method to prioritize the best cost-effective lipid lowering, and chooses the cheapest statin that achieves the desired therapeutic goal of LDL-c. (C) 2010 Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.