Combination causes considerable increase in blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes
MONDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- Co-administration of paroxetine and pravastatin is associated with an increase in blood glucose levels, especially in patients with diabetes, according to a study published online May 25 in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.
Nicholas P. Tatonetti, Ph.D., from Stanford University in California, and colleagues examined the interactions between the lipid-lowering agent pravastatin and the antidepressant paroxetine. The Adverse Event Reporting System of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was reviewed for side-effect profiles involving glucose homeostasis in patients co-medicated with pravastatin and paroxetine. Using data from the electronic medical record systems of three geographically distinct sites, the changes in mean random blood glucose levels were measured before and after treatment with the two drugs, in 104 patients with diabetes and 135 without diabetes.
The investigators found that co-administration of pravastatin and paroxetine had a synergistic impact on blood glucose. There was an overall average increase of 19 mg/dL, and for patients with diabetes the increase was 48 mg/dL. Conversely, when each drug was administered individually, neither drug was associated with such changes in glucose levels.
"These drugs may complicate the treatment and management of diabetes and could lead to a high incidence of adverse events. Further study is required to establish the clinical significance of these interactions and to indicate whether physicians should consider alternatives to combination treatment involving paroxetine and pravastatin in patients with diabetes," the authors write.
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