Statin escape phenomenon: Fact or fiction?

AIM: To evaluate the presence of the so called "statin escape" phenomenon among hyperlipidemic subjects attending a lipid clinic. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of 1240 hyperlipidemic individuals followed-up for ≥ 3 years. We excluded those individuals meeting one of the following criteria: Use of statin therapy at baseline visit, discontinuation of statin treatment at most recent visit, change in statin treatment during follow-up and poor compliance to treatment. Statin escape phenomenon was defined as an increase in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels at the most recent visit by > 10% compared with the value at 6 mo following initiation of statin treatment. RESULTS: Of 181 eligible subjects, 31% exhibited the statin escape phenomenon. No major differences regarding baseline characteristics were found between statin escapers and non-statin escapers. Both escapers and non-escapers had similar baseline LDL-C levels [174 (152-189) and 177 (152-205) mg/dL, respectively]. In comparison with non-escapers, statin escapers demonstrated lower LDL-C levels at 6 mo after treatment initiation [88 (78-97) mg/dL vs 109 (91-129) mg/dL, P < 0.05], but higher levels at the most recent visit [103 (96-118) mg/dL vs 94 (79-114) mg/dL, P < 0.05]. CONCLUSION: These data confirm the existence of an escape phenomenon among statin-treated individuals. The clinical significance of this phenomenon remains uncertain.