Combined Low/Moderate-Intensity Statin with Ezetimibe vs High-Intensity Statin Alone: A Comparison

Introduction: Hyperlipidemia is a continually rising global health crisis and is one of the leading contenders in chronic disease, with traditional statin monotherapy being at the foundation of LDL lowering treatment interventions. The purpose of this review is to compare two different therapy options, 1.) combined low/moderate-intensity statin with ezetimibe, and 2.) monotherapy high- intensity statin, and assess their efficacy in reducing LDL values in patients with hyperlipidemia. Methods: PubMed was searched using the search "high intensity" statin AND "ezetimibe" AND "lipid.” Operators and filters were added to narrow the results to four relevant, quality articles for review. Results: Three out of the four articles were meta-analysis comparing the efficacies and safeties of low/moderate-intensity statin plus ezetimibe combination therapy vs. high-intensity statin monotherapy and their effect of lowering LDL values. The fourth article was an eight-week RCT assessing the same. Results, overall, showed efficacy in lowering LDL values per the combination therapy, with one article demonstrating inconclusive data. Discussion: According to this review, current literature suggests that combination therapy is effective at reducing LDL levels in patients with hyperlipidemia. Patient outcomes, other cholesterol levels, and risk reduction were not addressed. Further research is needed to investigate the best agents for lowering lipids and reducing patient risks.