Jc. Glasinovic et al., EFFECTIVENESS OF LOVASTATIN THERAPY FOR G ALLSTONE DISSOLUTION IN ASYMPTOMATIC WOMEN, Revista Medica de Chile, 124(7), 1996, pp. 793-798
Background: There are no chilean reports on gallstone dissolution usin
g oral medications. Aim: To measure the proportion of asymptomatic adu
lt women eligible for gallstone dissolution therapy and to test the ef
fectiveness and tolerance of lovastatin for this purpose. Subjects and
methods: Three hundred fifty six women working at health care institu
tion were subjected to a gallbladder ultrasound examination. Non pregn
ant women with radiolucent gallstones of less than 2 cm 0 were invited
to receive lovastatin 20 mg od and were followed during six months. R
esults: Twenty two women had gallstones and eight eligible women recei
ved lovastatin therapy. No reduction in stone size was observed in the
se women. Conclusions: Less than half of asymptomatic women with galls
tones are eligible for oral dissolution therapy. Lovastatin did not re
duce gallstone size after six months of therapy.