A Tools for Practice asked: Do triglyceride-lowering medications (fibrates, statins, niacin, omega-3s) reduce the risk of pancreatitis in patients with “moderate” hypertriglyceridemia?
No randomized controlled trials have assessed the effect of fibrates or any other triglyceride-lowering medication on pancreatitis risk in patients with “very high” triglycerides (≥5.6 mmol/L).
In patients with triglycerides <5.6 mmol/L, fibrates either have no effect on pancreatitis or increase the absolute risk by ~0.1% over five years, whereas statins lower the risk by 0.1%.