Scheme for Combined Use of Statins and Ursodeoxycholic Acid in Patients with a High Risk of Cardiovascular Events and Concomitant Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Problems of Practical Application
Russian physicians often afraid to use statins in patients with high cardiovascular risk and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or other hepatobiliary diseases, especially in cases when elevated levels of serum transaminases are detected. To expand the use of statins in these patients, a scheme of statins and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) co-administration was developed in 2014 and subsequently in 2016 it was included into the Russian clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of NAFLD. In addition to the scheme, the guidelines contain the results of clinical trials that demonstrated hepatoprotective, lipid-lowering and anti-atherogenic effects of UDCA in patients with NAFLD. This paper presents a critical review of these trials, as well as it discusses the points of the scheme, which may contribute to unduly delayed prescribing and insufficiently intensive use of statins in patients with high risk of cardiovascular complications and associated NAFLD.