US researchers say split pills as effective as whole ones
A study by the University of Michigan, in the US has found that pills split in half can be as medically effective as those left whole, and has suggested that the practice could be an effective and safe way for patients and doctors to cut costs.
A study by the University of Michigan, in the US has found that pills split in half can be as medically effective as those left whole, and has suggested that the practice could be an effective and safe way for patients and doctors to cut costs.
Under current charging practices, two low-dose pills are often more expensive than one high-dose pill containing the same active ingredients, noted the university. Participants within the study split statins, the most widely used classes of medicines used in the US.
Statins linger in the body for a relatively long time and the small day-to-day dose fluctuations that can happen when pills are split do not heighten cholesterol levels. The study involved patients who were taking atorvastatin, pravastatin, or simvastatin.
"The findings concluded that the medications, although halved in dose, worked just a well as an entire pill without consequences," concluded the report, published in the American Journal of Managed Care.