The role of serum lipoprotein levels in predicting independent short-term mortality In COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Background: Plasma lipoprotein levels typically change as a result of systemic inflammation in coronavirus disease (COVID-19). These changes have been reported to be related to the severity and prognosis of the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride, and cholesterol levels andindependent short-term (28-day) mortality in COVID-19 patients with critical disease.
 Material and Method: The retrospective study included patients that had a positive result for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and were followed up in ICU due to pneumonia and acute hypoxemic respiratory failure between March 2020 and January 2021.
 Results: The 123 patients comprised 69 (56.1%) women and 54 (43.9%) men with a mean age of 65.41±13.93 years. Mean hospital and ICU stays were 16.07±9.84 and 8.54±8.24 days, respectively. Short-term (28-day) mortality occurred in 33 (26.8%) patients. Mean serum LDL, HDL, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels were 100.61±36.32, 41.57±10.74, 136.67±85.33, and 164.4±40.73 mg/dL, respectively. Short-term (28-day) mortality established a significant relationship with LDL and HDL levels, whereas no significant relationship was established with cholesterol and triglyceride levels (p=0.001, p=0.001, p=0.332, and p=0.222, respectively). The durations of hospital and ICU stay established a significant relationship with LDL levels (p=0.033 and p=0.002, respectively).
 Conclusion: Based on our results, we suggest that monitoring HDL and LDL levels with serial measurements in patients with critical and severe COVID-19 pneumonia may be useful for predicting the prognosis.