Aims Evidence for statin use amongst the elderly is limited with potential for harm. This study aimed to describe patient factors and characteristics that favour ongoing statin therapy as well as those that favour deprescribing.
Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted of 100 patients who were over the age of 90 and taking a statin and who were admitted to a tertiary hospital in Queensland in the 2022 calendar year. Relevant data was collected from medical records and analysed using simple descriptive statistics.
Results The mean age of the patients included in this study was 92 years old (sd=1.96). The mean clinical frailty scale score was five and 13% (13/100) were identified as having a life-limiting illness. Secondary prevention was a more common indication (63%, 63/100) than primary prevention (37%, 37/100). For those patients who were discharged, 79.6% (74/93) of statin prescriptions were unchanged, 14% (13/94) were ceased and 5.4% (5/93) were changed. Cessation was more common in patients on high-dose statins (46.2% (6/13) ceased vs. 10.8% (8/74) unchanged), those residing in residential aged care facilities (21.4% (3/13) ceased vs 12% (9/74) unchanged), or those with life-limiting illnesses (21.4% (3/13) ceased vs 13.3% (3/74) unchanged).
Conclusions Despite a significant prevalence of factors that favour deprescribing, most people continued their statin on discharge. This study highlights the need for increased consideration of deprescribing of statins in elderly patients. Further research is required to explore the outcomes of statin deprescribing in this population which could aid development of more robust guidelines.