STATIN INTERFERENCE IN LABORATORY EXAMS

Abstract

Drug interference plays an important role in the laboratory routine because of the probability of interfering with the assays and modifying the clinical-laboratory diagnosis. It is the professional clinical analyst responsible for detecting such interference in order to avoid misdiagnoses and erroneous clinical interventions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible interferences of the drug simvastatin in biochemical laboratory tests. A retrospective descriptive study was carried out between April and July 2015. Laboratory tests performed by patients with dyslipidemia and users of a specific drug were evaluated using the services provided by the Municipal Laboratory of Clinical Analysis of Santo Antônio de Posse, SP, Brazil. A questionnaire was applied to the volunteer participants to evaluate the lifestyle and the time of use of the drug. The enzymes Phosphatase Alkaline, Creatinophosphokinase (CPK), Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) and Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) were analyzed. The results showed that among 43 patients tests, 69.8% presented alterations in at least one of the exams evaluated. There was a change in the ALT enzyme in 53% of the patients test results. However, in 51%, no change in the CPK was detected. The interference of drugs on test results is a real problem due to its wide use throughout the population and proves the need for further studies related to possible interferences in clinical exams.