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Rosuvastatin shows no benefit in improving cognitive impairment

Researchers found no significant difference in the number of patients experiencing delirium or cognitive impairment among patients with sepsis-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome taking rosuvastatin compared with placebo, according to recent research.

“Despite encouraging preclinical and observational studies showing that statins were associated with reduced daily delirium in intensive care, our findings show no benefit of rosuvastatin in reducing delirium in intensive care or cognitive impairment during the subsequent 12 months,” Dale M. Needham, MD, of the Outcomes After Critical Illness and Surgery Group at Johns Hopkins University, and colleagues wrote. “Hence, there is a continued need to assess interventions to attenuate the cognitive impairments common in patients during and after admission to intensive care.”

Needham and colleagues evaluated 270 patients across 35 U.S. hospitals for delirium after receiving either a 40 mg loading dose of rosuvastatin followed by 20 mg until 3 days after discharge from an intensive care unit or placebo, according to the abstract. The researchers used the Confusion Assessment Method to assess delirium during intensive care and assessed cognitive function through language, verbal reasoning and concept formation and executive function as well as working memory, immediate memory and delayed memory.

They found that, proportionally, patients in the rosuvastatin group showed delirium for a mean 34% of days compared with 31% of days in the placebo group (HR = 1.14; 95% CI, 0.92-1.41), according to the abstract. Needham and colleagues reported cognitive impairment in 19 of 53 patients (36%) in the rosuvastatin group at 6 months compared with 29 of 77 patients (38%) in the placebo group (treatment effect = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.39-2.22). There was also no significant difference in cognitive impairment observed at 12 months, with 20 of 67 (30%) patients in the rosuvastatin group and 23 of 81 patients (28%) in the placebo group having cognitive impairment. – by Jeff Craven

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.