Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Dosing of Rosuvastatin in Patients Previously Intolerant to Statin Therapy

Statins are normally administered for the treatment of dyslipidemia on a daily basis. This standard dosing regimen is well tolerated by most patients. Occasionally, patients discontinue therapy secondary to side effects, most commonly myalgias. We describe 2 patients who were unable to tolerate daily atorvastatin therapy secondary to myalgias and were subsequently treated with rosuvastatin administered on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with resolution of adverse effects. Significant reductions in serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were observed in the 2 patients despite the alternate-day dosing regimen. Rosuvastatin was chosen because of its long half-life (19 hours) and very high potency.