The use of anti-hyperlipidemia in a private hospital in Yogyakarta during 2013-2019

Background: Lipid modifying agents have an important role in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and stroke. The use of lipid-modifying agents tends to increase along with the increasing prevalence of these diseases. Objectives: To determine the utilization of lipid modifying agents for hospitalized patients in a private hospital in Yogyakarta during the period of 2013 - 2019 in regard to the agents used and their quantity. Methods: The main data for this study were aggregate data on the use of lipid modifying agents for hospitalized patients during 2013-2019 obtained from the hospital pharmacy department. After identification of the names of lipid modifying agents, the quantities of these drugs were then calculated in units of defined daily dose (DDD) and the final quantity was expressed in DDD/100 bed days (BD). The R2 value from linear regression was used to determine the trend of use of individual agents over the period. Results: There were two pharmacological subgroups of lipid modifying agents used during the period of 2013 – 2019 with an average of total quantity of 14.81 DDD/100 BD. Utilization of statins was approximately 90% of the total use, and utilization of fibrates tended to decrease over the period. Individually, simvastatin use decreased significantly over the period (R2 = 0.885), but atorvastatin use continued to increase (R2 = 0.908) with 10-fold increase from 2013 to 2019. Conclusion: The lipid modifying agents used during the period 2013 - 2019 were predominantly statins, and the utilization of atorvastatin increased significantly during this period. Keywords: lipid modifying agents, ATC/DDD, fibrates, statins