A case of severe hyperlipidemia caused by long-term tube feedings

A 77-year-old woman with type II diabetes mellitus was admitted to our hospital in August/ 1995 with severe hyperlipidemia. She had taken feedings through a nasogastric tube with 1000 ml (1000 kcal) of Ensureliquid daily since 1993 because of the muscle weakness after rhabdomyolysis. Her serum total cholesterol was 515 mg/dl and triglyceride was 3378 mg/dl despite administration of 10 mg of simvastatin daily. After substitution of a standard diet starting August 21, we found significant decreases of total cholesterol from 725 mg/dl to 194 mg/dl and triglyceride from 4680 mg/dl to 550 mg/dl within 37 days. We also found a severe decrease in her serum total carnitine level of 22 micromol/l (normal range 45-91 micromol/l) before changing the diet, suggesting secondary carnitine deficiency. Severe hyperlipidemia was reversed by changing the carnitine deficient diet (Ensureliquid) to a carnitine-containing diet. We suggested that the development of hyperlipidemia was related to the carnitine deficiency.