Pharmacists’ Utilization of Non-HDL-C Levels in Managing Patients With Lipid Disorders

Background: Since 2013 there have been cholesterol guideline changes impacting pharmacists’ clinical practice in managing lipid disorders. For more than a decade, cholesterol management was based on the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol Adult Treatment Panel III guideline, highlighting non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) as a secondary target in persons with triglycerides ≥200 mg/dL, after low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goal attainment. The 2013 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guideline differed from the traditional management of dyslipidemia, in part no longer emphasizing the utilization of non-HDL-C levels. Objective: To measure pharmacists’ attitudes and behavior regarding utilization of non-HDL-C level calculation before and after the inception of the 2013 ACC/AHA cholesterol guideline. Methods: Pharmacists in the American College of Clinical Pharmacy ambulatory care listserv participated in an electronic survey in November 2013, before the inception of the 2013 ACC/AHA guideline, and again in October 2018. Results: We collected 391 usable responses from participants; 212 responses in 2013 and 179 responses in 2018. The before and after comparison revealed that respondents in 2013 reported significantly higher frequency of calculating non-HDL-C levels (mean = 1.88, SD = 0.80) than respondents in 2018 (mean = 1.66, SD = 0.79) (P ≤ .001). Also, the frequency that non-HDL-C level calculation alters decisions regarding course of treatment was lower in the 2018 (mean = 3.50, SD = 1.06) in comparison with 2013 (mean = 3.77, SD = 0.88) (P ≤ .05). Furthermore, pharmacists were more favorable toward the inclusion of non-HDL-C level calculation in 2018 (mean = 3.77, SD = 1.05) than in 2013 (mean = 3.13, SD = 1.33) (P ≤ .001). Conclusion and Relevance: Clinical pharmacists’ utilization of non-HDL-C levels in the clinical management of patients with hypercholesterolemia has decreased, highlighting the need for further education on the importance of evaluating non-HDL-C levels in the very high-risk atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease population.