A report has claimed that statins may help prevent delirium in critically ill patients, who took the cholesterol lowering drug before they were admitted to the hospital.
The beneficiary effect of statin may be due to the anti-inflammatory effects, according to study author, Dr. Valerie Page, of the Watford General Hospital in Watford, England.
"This is the first study using a validated delirium screening tool, the Confusion Assessment Method-ICU (CAM-ICU), to show that the administration of statins reduces delirium in these patients," said Dr. Page. "This benefit may be mediated by a reduction in systemic inflammation."
The researchers took the time out to look at 470 intensive care patients. Of that number, only 151 patients who had previously been taking statins beforehand, was given the drug while in hospital. The study found that patients who were given statin the evening prior, had a more lower risk of delirium the following day, along with reduced levels of a marker for inflammation.
According to the researchers, delirium is classified as sudden state of severe confusion. "Although the pathogenesis of delirium is not fully understood, these data are consistent with a neuro-inflammatory cause and suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of statins may contribute to the effects of statin treatment on delirium," said Dr. Page. "Our study on statin use and the risk of delirium in critically ill subjects included extensive data on a large, broadly representative population of consecutive intensive care patients, increasing its strength."
The study has been published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
"Our findings suggest that statin treatment should be continued to help prevent delirium in critically ill patients who received statins before being admitted," said Dr. Page. "The relationship between statin therapy and delirium and the mechanisms underlying this relationship are the subject of an ongoing randomized, placebo-controlled study in critically ill ventilated patients."
Note, however, that despite the study finding that statin therapy is capable of lowering the risk of delirium in critically ill patients in the hospital, it failed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
