This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Adverse effects and precautions

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

  • headache, abdominal pain and diarrhoea are commonly reported by patients taking ezetimibe (1)
  • hypersensitivity reactions have been reported rarely - including angioedema and rash,
  • in comparative studies with ezetimibe plus a statin with a statin alone - the overall incidence of unwanted effects was not significantly different between the groups
    • note however, in one study, 2% of patients randomised to a statin plus ezetimibe developed asymptomatic increases in plasma levels of liver enzymes compared with none of those taking ezetimibe, a statin or placebo alone (1)
  • ...ezetimibe did not appear to reduce the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (1)
  • no adjustment of the dose of ezetimibe is needed for older patients, patients with renal impairment or those with mild liver dysfunction
    • note however that the manufacturer does not advise the use of ezetimibe in patients with moderate or severe liver disease (Child-Pugh score 7 or more)

Reference:

  1. Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin 2004; 42(9):65-7.

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page