Low cholesterol levels are associated with an inreased risk of death in critically ill surgical patients.

This study was published in Critical Care Medicine 2001 Aug;29(8):1563-8

Study title and authors:
Relationship of hypolipidemia to cytokine concentrations and outcomes in critically ill surgical patients.

Gordon BR, Parker TS, Levine DM, Saal SD, Wang JC, Sloan BJ, Barie PS, Rubin AL.
Rogosin Institute, 505 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021, USA. gordobr@mail.rockefeller.edu

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11505128

 

The objective of the study was to determine the relationship of cholesterol levels with clinical outcomes in critically ill surgical patients. (Clinical outcomes included death, infection subsequent to intensive care unit admission, length of intensive care unit stay, and magnitude of organ dysfunction). The study included 111 patients with a variety of critical illnesses, for whom cholesterol levels were determined within 24 hours of admission to a surgical intensive care unit.

 

Average cholesterol levels of the patients were extremely low:

(i) Total cholesterol, 127 mg/dL (3.2 mmol/L)

(ii) Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, 75 mg/dL (1.9 mmol/L)

(iii) High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, 29 mg/dL (.75 mmol/L)

 

Clinical outcomes were related to whether the admission cholesterol levels were above (56 patients) or below (55 patients) 120 mg/dL (3.1 mmol/L).

 

The study found:

(a) Each of the clinical outcomes occurred between 1.9- and 3.5-fold more frequently in the very low cholesterol (less than 120 mg/dL or 3.1 mmol/L) group.

(b) Nine patients died during the hospitalization. Seven of the nine patients who died were in the very low cholesterol (less than 120 mg/dL or 3.1 mmol/L) group.

 

The results of the study show that low cholesterol levels are associated with an inreased risk of death in critically ill surgical patients.