Published in:
01-02-2012 | Clinical and Epidemiological Study
The impact of prior long-term versus short-term statin use on the mortality of bacteraemic patients
Published in: Infection | Issue 1/2012
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Background
The aim of this investigation was to assess the effect of prior statin use on the 30-day in-hospital mortality among bacteraemic patients and to determine the impact of long-term versus short-term statin use on the mortality of bacteraemic patients.
Patients and methods
A retrospective study of 342 bacteraemic patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) within a period of 7 years was undertaken. Twenty-three patients did not meet the inclusion criteria. The remaining 319 patients were divided into three groups according to statin use and duration of therapy prior to the bacteraemic episode: group 1 (n = 123) had long-term statin use ≥12 weeks, group 2 (n = 35) had short-term statin use <12 weeks, and group 3 (n = 161) had no statin use.
Results
The overall 30-day in-hospital all-cause mortality of patients with statins was lower than patients without statin therapy (13 vs. 24%, p = 0.001). The mortality rate in group 1 was lower than in group 2 (11 vs. 17%, p = 0.04). After adjusting for confounding variables, the results of a multiple Cox regression analysis revealed that the absence of statin use (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.98; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.59–5.56, p = 0.001) was associated with increased 30-day in-hospital all-cause mortality in bacteraemic patients.
Conclusions
Statins reduce the 30-day in-hospital all-cause mortality of bacteraemic patients. Long-term statin use prior to the bacteraemia improves the survival of bacteraemic patients more than short-term statin use.