Prescription patterns of statins in cirrhotic patients: a survey among primary care physicians and cardiologists.

BACKGROUND

Statin therapy is widely utilized for preventing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, both as a primary and secondary measure. Despite the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases' endorsement of statin use in cirrhotic patients, practitioners exhibit hesitancy, primarily due to concerns regarding hepatotoxicity. This study aimed to evaluate statin prescription patterns in cirrhotic patients by primary care physicians (PCPs) and cardiologists through a survey.

METHODS

A voluntary survey via Survey Monkey with nine objective-type questions was sent to 220 PCPs and 75 cardiologists within Allegheny Health Network. Survey results were collected, and a chi square test was used to compare the two groups. A value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

A total of 64 PCPs (29.1%) and 15 cardiologists (20%) completed the survey. Overall, 12.6% did not prescribe statins for primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in compensated cirrhotic patients. While all cardiologists prescribed statins for secondary prevention, over 50% preferred lower-intensity options. Conversely, 14.1% of PCPs avoided statin prescriptions for secondary prevention. Cardiologists were significantly more inclined to prescribe statins, especially for cirrhosis due to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease compared to PCPs (73.3% vs 45.3%,  = 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite increasing evidence favoring use of statins in cirrhosis for improving portal hemodynamics and decreasing ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma, and mortality, there is still hesitation on the part of prescribers for the fear of worsening liver disease. Wider dissemination of current guidelines and education practices may help to bridge this gap.