Incidence of Hypertriglyceridemia in Patients on Propofol, Clevidipine, or Both

Propofol and clevidipine (PC) are commonly used in the treatment of critically ill patients. While both medications are lipid emulsions, there is limited evidence concerning the incidence of hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) when these agents are used individually or concurrently.

The objective of this study is to determine the effects of propofol, clevidipine, or concurrent PC on triglycerides (TGs) and related outcomes in critically ill adults.

This was a retrospective cohort study conducted at an academic medical center. Patients were included if they received ≥24 hours of continuous propofol and/or clevidipine. Excluded were those without TG levels after ≥24 hours of infusion, baseline HTG, acute pancreatitis at admission, or receiving total parenteral nutrition with lipids. The primary outcome was incidence of HTG (defined as a TG level >400 mg/dL). Secondary outcomes included median and peak TG levels, hospital length of stay, intensive care unit length of stay, total lipid infused, time to peak TG level, peak lipase level, and development of pancreatitis.

In total, 190 patients were studied: 109 in the propofol group, 50 in the clevidipine group, and 31 in the PC group. Incidence of HTG was similar (19 [17.4%] vs 6 [12%] vs 4 [12.9%] patients, P = 0.6246). Peak and median TG levels were similar for propofol, clevidipine, and PC groups (216 mg/dL vs 189.5 mg/dL vs 205 mg/dL, P = 0.7069; 177 mg/dL vs 185.5 mg/dL vs 177 mg/dL, P = 0.6791).

There was a similar incidence of HTG in all groups. The results of this study suggest that the concurrent use of PC should not modify the frequency of TG level monitoring.