Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2012 Jun 28:2012:bcr1120115270.
doi: 10.1136/bcr.11.2011.5270.

Adverse drug reaction: rosuvastatin as a cause for ischaemic colitis in a 64-year-old woman

Jackie Tan  1 , Casper Francois Pretorius, Paul Vincent Flanagan, Antonio Pais
Affiliations
Case Reports

Adverse drug reaction: rosuvastatin as a cause for ischaemic colitis in a 64-year-old woman

Jackie Tan et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

Rosuvastatin (Crestor, AstraZeneca) is a commonly used drug for managing hypercholesterolaemia. It is a very safe medication with mostly acceptable side effects. Rare but serious side effects are not well known. A 64-year-old woman presented with bloody diarrhoea after starting rosuvastatin for hypercholesterolaemia. Stool microscopy and culture ruled out infective causes. Abdominal CT scan revealed normal calibre celiac axis and superior mesenteric artery. Colonoscopic biopsy revealed ischaemic colitis as the final histological diagnosis. The patient is in complete remission after ceasing the medication. Rosuvastatin causing ischaemic colitis should be considered a rare but serious adverse drug reaction.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diffuse bowel wall thickening involving the colon from splenic flexure (red arrow).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Fat stranding around the same loop of bowel (red arrow).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mucosal ulceration and sloughing (red arrow) on colonoscopy.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Patent celiac axis and SMA (green arrow) of the patient.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Patent inferior mesenteric artery (green arrow).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hsia J, MacFadyen JG, Monyak J, et al. Cardiovascular event reduction and adverse events among subjects attaining low-density lipoprotein cholesterol <50 mg/dl with rosuvastatin: the JUPITER trial (Justification for the Use of Statins in Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin). J Am Coll Cardiol 2011;57:1666–75. - PubMed
    1. Kostapanos MS, Milionis HJ, Elisaf MS. Rosuvastatin-associated adverse effects and drug-drug interactions in the clinical setting of dyslipidemia. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs 2010;10:11–28. - PubMed
    1. “FDA Approves New Drug for Lowering Cholesterol”. The Food and Drug Administration. August 12, 2003.
    1. Nissen SE, Nicholls SJ, Sipahi I, et al. Effect of very high-intensity statin therapy on regression of coronary atherosclerosis. The ASTEROID trial. JAMA 2006;295:1556–65. - PubMed
    1. Micromedex. http://www.micromedex.com/mobile/ (accessed 7 September 2011).

Publication types

MeSH terms