Statins and nasal polyps

This paper was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine 2005 Feb 15;142(4):310-1

Study title and authors:
Statins and nasal polyps.

Bucca C, Marsico A, Panaro E, Bigo P, Brussino L.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15710970

This paper describes the case of a woman who developed nasal polyps (warty growths) after taking statins.

(i) A 57 year old woman with rhinosinusitis (rhinosinusitis is inflammation of the nasal passage and sinuses) and asthma sought medical attention for the recent onset of rhinosinusitis associated with asthma.
(ii) With treatment the patients condition nearly normalised.
(iii) She started to take atorvastatin.
(iv) One month later the patient returned because of severe persistent nasal obstruction with extensive polyp growth.
(v) Tests found she had abnormally high amounts of eosinophil's (white blood cells) and her sinuses were completely stuffed with polyps.
(vi) The polyps were removed, but returned within one month of surgery.
(vii) She stopped taking atorvastatin and within three weeks her condition had dramatically improved with her nasal polyps disappearing.
(viii) She restarted atorvastatin and her nasal symptoms and polyps returned shortly afterwards, together with nasal eosinophilia.
(ix) The patient improved after again stopping atorvastatin.
(x) She later started to take simvastatin and again the polyps recurred.

Bucca concluded: "Statins may lead to development of eosinophilic polypoid rhinosinusitis"