Efficacy of Combination Therapy of Rosuvastatin and Ezetimibe vs Rosuvastatin Monotherapy on Lipid Profile of Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Introduction: Dyslipidaemia is one of the most important modifiable risk factor for the development of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). Although, statins are established as first line lipid-lowering therapy, they may not be able to achieve treatment goals in significant number of patients. Combination therapy of statin with a non-statin drug like Ezetimibe is a therapeutic option. Aim: To compare the efficacy and safety of Rosuvastatin/Ezetimibe combination therapy vs Rosuvastatin alone on the lipid profile of patients with CAD in Northern India. Materials and Methods: This randomized prospective study was conducted on 80 patients of CAD presenting to Department of Medicine, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India. The patients were randomly divided into age and sex matched two groups of 40 each. After baseline investigations and lifestyle modifications, Group I was started on rosuvastatin 10 mg once daily, while Group II was started on rosuvastatin 10 mg+ezetimibe 10 mg daily. The fasting serum lipid profile was repeated initially after 12 weeks and then after 24 weeks. The two groups were observed for side effects which were noted. Results: The combination therapy of rosuvastatin and ezetimibe resulted in significantly higher change in all lipid parameters (LDL-C, TC, TG, HDL-C) as compared to treatment with rosuvastatin alone. There was no difference in the adverse effects seen after treatment in the two groups. Conclusion: Our study showed that combination therapy of ezetimibe with rosuvastatin can be used as an effective and safe therapy in high risk patients of CAD, especially in patients in whom statin monotherapy is not able to achieve the target lipid levels.