What are some of the mistakes people make regarding drug interactions involving the “statins”?
Failure to warn all patients on statins to be alert for evidence of myopathy. All statins can cause muscle damage (myopathy), usually resulting in muscle pain and/or weakness and darkening of the urine to a brownish or “tea” color. Prompt discontinuation of the statin is important to minimize the risk of this adverse effect. Drug interactions can increase the risk of myopathy for some statins, usually by increasing the serum concentrations of the statin through inhibition of cytochrome P450 and possibly ABC transporters. All patients taking statins should be advised to contact their physician or pharmacist if they develop muscle pain or weakness, or dark urine.
