[The usefulness of cholesterol as a nutritional-metabolic marker in the septic patient]

We studied the behavior of the cholesterol of 118 septic patients on entering Intensive Care and on receiving parenteral nutritional support, to establish its utility as malnutrition and/or monitoring marker. On admission, there was more intensive hypocholesterolemia (104 +/- 39 mg/dl) in those who had developed multi-organ failure (87 +/- 34 mg/dl, p < 0.001). There was no correlation between cholesterol and gravity (APACHE II). Basal cholesterol values were correlated with transferrin (r = 0.58), prealbumin (r = 0.43), retinol-linked protein (r = 0.32) and albumin (r = 0.32) and albumin (r = 0.54). During twelve days' parenteral nutrition, cholesterol and visceral protein levels recovered, and the good correlation was maintained between cholesterol and transferrin while that between cholesterol and prealbumin increased and that between cholesterol and retinol-linked virtually disappeared. There ceased to be a relation between albumin and cholesterol as from day six. In cases where the septic situation was maintained, with clinical deterioration, cholesterol levels did not rise. This, along with the close correlation with transferrin, led us to think that cholesterol is influenced by inflammation mediators, acting as a marker for this more as nutritional parameter. However, in practice, it provides the same information as short-life visceral proteins, and its determination is more accessible.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)