Study of serum cholesterol levels as a prognostic marker in patients with sepsis

Abstract

Introduction: Sepsis affects persons of all ages and is one of the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Several studies suggests that serum cholesterol may be a useful prognostic marker of sepsis. Material and methods: This was a prospective study conducted in the Department of Medicine, Muzaffarnagar Medical College, Muzaffarnagar, U.P. with 200 ICU patients diagnosed with sepsis by fulfilling all inclusion and exclusion criteria after informed consent and ethical clearance. Serum cholesterol levels were measured on the day 1 and the day 5 of presentation. Result: In the present study, out of 200 subjects, 137 patients had a cholesterol level below 200mg/dl. During the study, 126 patients survived whereas 74 patients expired during the course of treatment. The mean serum cholesterol levels were lower in non-survivor group as compared to survivor group. Conclusion: We can conclude from the results of the present study that monitoring the total cholesterol levels can be used as a prognostic tool in patients with sepsis for predicting the disease outcome.