Trial reportCirculation2004
There is no evidence for an increase in acute coronary syndromes after short-term abrupt discontinuation of statins in stable cardiac patients.
Trial report in Circulation, 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01543035 (Phase III Prospective Multicentric Trial Evaluating Etravirine for HIV Infected Patients in Need of Lipid Lowering Drugs), which is not on this map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Phase III Prospective Multicentric Trial Evaluating Etravirine for HIV Infected Patients in Need of Lipid Lowering Drugs: the ETRALL Trial
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 83 citations in OpenAlex.
- Statins for Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Central blood pressure lowering effect of telmisartan-rosuvastatin single-pill combination in hypertensive patients combined with dyslipidemia: A pilot study.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2021Trial
- Target trial emulation of statin discontinuation in multimorbid older adults with polypharmacy.European journal of clinical investigation · 2026Article
- Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Increases Significantly During Brief Discontinuation of Atorvastatin and Correlates With Metabolite Half-Lives.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2025Article
- Statins for Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Article
- Statin therapy for preventing cardiovascular diseases in patients treated with tacrolimus after kidney transplantation.Therapeutics and clinical risk management · 2017Article
- Patients who discontinued statin treatment: a protocol for cohort study using primary care data.BMJ open · 2015Observational
- Impact of statin usage patterns on outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention in acute myocardial infarction: Korea Working Group on Myocardial Infarction registry (KorMI) study.Journal of geriatric cardiology : JGC · 2014Article
- Statin Discontinuation after Achieving a Target Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Level in Type 2 Diabetic Patients without Cardiovascular Disease: A Randomized Controlled Study.Diabetes & metabolism journal · 2014Article
- Pharmacological management of co-morbid conditions at the end of life: is less more?Irish journal of medical science · 2013Article
- Statin rebound or withdrawal syndrome: does it exist?Current atherosclerosis reports · 2011 · on this mapReview
- Rosuvastatin therapy does not affect serum MMP-13 or TIMP-1 levels in hypercholesterolemic patients.Texas Heart Institute journal · 2011Article
- Discontinuing medications: a novel approach for revising the prescribing stage of the medication-use process.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2008Article
- Adjunctive interventions in myocardial infarction: the role of statin therapy.Current atherosclerosis reports · 2008Review
- Pleiotropic effects: should statins be considered an essential component in the treatment of dyslipidemia?Current atherosclerosis reports · 2008Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFor a variety of reasons, many patients abruptly discontinue statin therapy. The present analysis was conducted to determine whether the risk of cardiovascular outcomes increases after withdrawal of statin therapy in a stable cardiac population. METHODS AND
resultsIn the Treating to New Target (TNT) study, 2 doses of atorvastatin (10 and 80 mg once daily) are being used in a double-blind parallel-group design. Of the 18,468 patients screened for study participation, 16,619 entered a dietary lead-in/drug-washout period, and of these, 15,432 eligible participants began treatment with atorvastatin 10 mg/d on an open-label basis. Of the subjects who entered the dietary lead-in/drug-washout period, 57% were receiving prior statin therapy. During the 6-week drug-washout period, there were 24 primary events (defined as coronary heart disease death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, resuscitated cardiac arrest, and fatal or nonfatal stroke); throughout the subsequent 8-week open-label period, there were 31 primary events. This equated to monthly Kaplan-Meier event rates of 0.20% during washout and 0.26% in the open-label phase. Event rates were therefore similar during the 2 phases.
conclusionsThe present analysis demonstrates that short-term discontinuation of statin therapy in stable cardiac patients apparently does not lead to a clinically important increased risk of acute coronary syndromes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.