Rhabdomyolysis with Ezetimibe. The Medical Letter 2005;47(1203):17.
The Canadian equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about postmarketing reports of myalgia, rhabdomyolysis, hepatitis, pancreatitis, and thrombocytopenia detected in patients who were taking ezetimibe (Zetia). Ezetimibe is used alone or, in the United States, is marketed in a combination with simvastatin (Vytorin). There have been previous case reports of myalgia that have occurred when ezetimibe was added to a previously tolerated statin. These new Canadian reports should alert patients and clinicians that rhabdomyolysis is a potential risk associated with the use of ezetimibe even though it was not detected in initial trials.