Hypolipidemic agents in patients under 18 years of age

Abstract

Introduction: dyslipidemias are alterations in the synthesis, transport or metabolism of lipoproteins with modified lipids concentrations and there is an association between these alterations and cardiovascular disease, causing great morbimortality, so it is important to prevent them from childhood, representing a therapeutic challenge in pediatric ages, since a variety of drugs used for its treatment are not approved for use in these ages. Objective: to provide an updated summary on the use of lipid-lowering drugs in patients under 18 years of age. Methods: a non-systematic exploratory review of the selected literature was carried out. Original studies that evaluate the efficacy, safety and adherence to treatment with lipid-lowering therapy in children under 18 years old were included and opinion articles, studies in languages other than English or Spanish, and studies with an adult population were excluded. A bibliographic search strategy was used in specialized databases, synthesizing the information obtained to answer the research question and provide the most important findings. Results: A total of 131 studies were found, 30 original studies that met the inclusion criteria were selected for the information analysis. Discussion: Several pharmacological groups were analyzed for the treatment of dyslipidemia in pediatric patients, highlighting the use of statins together with lifestyle changes and appropriate diets, especially in family hypercholesterolemia. Conclusions: Statins are the drugs of choice due to their greater effectiveness, safety and good tolerance and the use of other drugs constitute a second line, and more long-term evidence is needed to document their use.