Alteration of lipid profile and value of lipids in the prediction of the length of hospital stay in COVID‐19 pneumonia patients

• Published in: Food science & nutrition Vol. 8; no. 11; pp. 6144 - 6152
• Main Authors: Qin, Chen, Minghan, Huang, Ziwen, Zhao, Yukun, Luo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-11-2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Age; Apolipoproteins; Bacterial infections; Cardiovascular disease; Cholesterol; Coronaviruses; Correlation analysis; COVID-19; COVID‐19 pneumonia; Creatinine; Density; Diabetes; Hemoglobin; High density lipoprotein; Hospitalization; Hospitals; Hypertension; infection; Infections; Intensive care; length of hospital stay; lipid profile; Lipids; Low density lipoprotein; Medical laboratories; Nutrition; Original Research; Patients; Pneumonia; Prolongation; Serum levels; Serum lipids; Surfactants; Triglycerides; Variables; Variance analysis; Viral infections; length of hospital stay; cholesterol; infection; COVID‐19 pneumonia; lipid profile
• ISSN: 2048-7177; 2048-7177
• DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.1907

To observe lipid profiles and their alterations in hospitalized patients with COVID‐19 pneumonia (NCP) and evaluate the value of lipids for the prediction of the length of hospital stay (LOS), a total of 248 patients aged 18 years or older were enrolled in this retrospective study. At admission, the median levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) in all patients were 1.11, 4.00, 0.89, and 2.11 mmol/L, respectively. Compared with common cases (n = 174), severe cases (n = 74) exhibited higher TG and HDL‐C, and lower LDL‐C. Levels of TC and LDL‐C were negatively correlated with LOS. In 68 severe cases, serum lipids were followed up during hospitalization, and the median LOS was 29 days. The average levels of serum lipids were lowest at admission and gradually increased during hospitalization. Compared with the LOS ≤ 29 days group, serum levels of TC, HDL‐C, and LDL‐C were significantly lower in the LOS > 29 days group at admission; this lower trend was found in the subsequent tests for TC and LDL‐C but not for HDL‐C or TG. Multiple‐variant COX regression showed that levels of TC or LDL‐C at admission were independent risk of LOS prolongation. Together, these findings suggest that in patients with NCP, levels of TC and LDL‐C at admission were negatively correlated with LOS. In severe cases, the gradual increase in TC, LDL‐C, and HDL‐C during hospitalization might indicate gradual recovery. TC < 3.75 mmol/L or LDL‐C < 1.7 mmol/L at admission may act as an independent predictor of prolonged LOS.
Lipid levels at admission were low in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) infected pneumonia (NCP‐19) patients. Lipid levels gradually increased during the recovery from NCP‐19. Lipid levels of TC, LDL and HDL are inversely connecting with the length of hospital stay in NCP‐19 patients. Monitoring of lipid alteration is important for therapeutic strategy in NCP‐19 patients.