Atorvastatin - Contraindications

Contraindications

• Active liver disease: cholestasis, hepatic encephalopathy, hepatitis, and jaundice
• Unexplained elevations in AST or ALT levels
• Pregnancy
• Breastfeeding

Precaution must be taken when treating with atorvastatin, because rarely it may lead to rhabdomyolysis, it may be very serious leading to acute renal failure due to myoglobinuria. If rhabdomyolysis is suspected or diagnosed, atorvastatin therapy should be discontinued immediately. However, trials show that atorvastatin may be protective of kidney function. Also Atorvastatin should be discontinued if a patient has markedly elevated CPK levels or if a myopathy is suspected or diagnosed. The likelihood of developing a myopathy is increased by the co-administration of cyclosporine, fibric acid derivatives, erythromycin, niacin, and azole antifungals.

Atorvastatin is absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy, it is likely to cause harm to fetal development because of the importance of cholesterol and various products in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway for fetal development, including steroid synthesis and cell membrane production. It is not recommended that nursing mothers take atorvastatin due to the possibility of adverse reactions in nursing infants, since experiments with rats indicate that atorvastatin is likely to be secreted into human breast milk.