Daptomycin is an antibiotic used to treat serious bacterial infections. Statins are drugs prescribed on a long-term basis to prevent or reduce cardiovascular disease by lowering LDL-cholesterol.

In a retrospective study, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center found that VUMC patients who continued taking a statin while taking daptomycin had 2.6 times greater risk of developing myopathy (muscle weakness) and 4.67 times greater risk of a more severe form of muscle damage called rhabdomyolysis.

“This is the first study to provide strong evidence supporting this association,” reported Ryan Dare, MD, MS, and co-authors in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. Echoing the maker of daptomycin, the study authors recommend that doctors consider withholding statins during daptomycin therapy.

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