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. 2024 Feb 21:11:1326156.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1326156. eCollection 2024.

COVID-19-associated hypertriglyceridemia and impact of treatment

Rasha Kaddoura #  1 , Mohamed Izham Mohamed Ibrahim #  2 , Maha Al-Amri  1 , Arun Prabhakaran Nair  3 , Ahmad Alharafsheh  4 , Sumaya Alsaadi Alyafei  1 , Mutaz Albakri  5
Affiliations

COVID-19-associated hypertriglyceridemia and impact of treatment

Rasha Kaddoura et al. Front Med (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated hypertriglyceridemia was observed among patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) in Qatar. This study aimed to describe COVID-19-associated-hypertriglyceridemia in ICU patients and the impact of treating hypertriglyceridemia on clinical outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study of adult patients who were admitted to the ICU with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia according to the World Health Organization criteria. Hypertriglyceridemia was defined as triglyceride level of 1.7 mmol/L (≥150 mg/dL) and severe hypertriglyceridemia as fasting TG of ≥5.6 mmol/L (≥500 mg/dL).

Results: Of 1,234 enrolled patients, 1,016 (82.3%) had hypertriglyceridemia. Median age was 50 years and 87.9% were males. Patients with hypertriglyceridemia showed significantly longer time to COVID-19 recovery, ICU and hospital stay, and time to death (29.3 vs. 16.9 days) without a difference in mortality between groups. Of patients with hypertriglyceridemia, 343 (33.8%) received treatment (i.e., fibrate and/or omega-3). Patients in treatment group showed longer time to COVID-19 recovery and hospital stay with no difference in death rates in comparison with those in no-treatment group. Relatively older patients were less likely to experience hypertriglyceridemia (odd ratio (OR) 0.976; 95% CI: 0.956, 0.995) or to receive treatment (OR 0.977; 95% CI: 0.960, 0.994). Whereas patients who received tocilizumab were more likely to experience high TG level (OR 3.508; 95% CI: 2.046, 6.015) and to receive treatment for it (OR 2.528; 95% CI: 1.628, 3.926).

Conclusion: Hypertriglyceridemia associated with COVID-19 did not increase death rate, but prolonged time to death and length of stay. Treating hypertriglyceridemia did not translate into improvement in clinical outcomes including mortality.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; fenofibrate; hypertriglyceridemia; omega-3; triglycerides.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Triglyceride level values during admission. ICU, intensive care unit; TG, triglyceride.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Clinical outcomes based on triglycerides levels. ICU, intensive care unit; TG, triglyceride.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Clinical outcomes based on hypertriglyceridemia treatment. ICU, intensive care unit; TG, triglyceride.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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