Efficacy and tolerability of rosuvastatin and atorvastatin when force-titrated in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia: results from the ECLIPSE study.

Author(s): Faergeman O, Hill L, Windler E, Wiklund O, Asmar R, Duffield E, Sosef F

Affiliation(s): Aarhus Sygehus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.

Publication date & source: 2008, Cardiology., 111(4):219-28. Epub 2008 Apr 23.

Publication type: Comparative Study; Multicenter Study; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

BACKGROUND: Patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease frequently fail to reach recommended low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goals, partly because statin doses are not titrated to optimal effect. The ECLIPSE study was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of force-titrated treatment with rosuvastatin (10-40 mg) with that of atorvastatin (10-80 mg) in high-risk patients with hypercholesterolemia. METHODS: In this 24-week, open-label, randomized, multinational, parallel-group study, 1,036 patients were randomized to rosuvastatin (n = 522) or atorvastatin (n = 514). RESULTS: At all time points, a significantly greater percentage of patients on rosuvastatin treatment achieved the NCEP ATP III LDL-C goal of <100 mg/dl (2.5 mmol/l), the 2003 European LDL-C target of <2.5 or 3.0 mmol/l (100 or 115 mg/dl) and the LDL-C goal of <70 mg/dl (1.8 mmol/l), a goal suggested for very high-risk patients (p < 0.001 for all). Rosuvastatin also achieved significantly greater improvements in components of the atherogenic lipid profile versus atorvastatin. Both treatments were well tolerated. CONCLUSION: Rosuvastatin titrated across its recommended dose range provides a more favorable effect on lipoprotein variables than atorvastatin, enabling more high-risk patients to achieve recommended LDL-C goals. Copyright 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.