Pre-operative lipid profile of cardiac surgery patients: Implications of incidental findings

Background: Dyslipidemia is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Different schools of thought hold different opinions regarding the use of statins in the perioperative period for cardiac surgery patients. There seems not to be a consensus yet on when to commence statin therapy for cardiac surgery patients not yet on treatment for dyslipidemia, but the beneficial effects of dyslipidemia management are not in doubt. Objectives: The objective was to characterize the pattern of dyslipidemia and atherogenic indices present in cardiac surgery patients. Materials and Methods: The study was a retrospective record review of patients who presented for open heart surgery between 2013 and 2017. Results of pre-operative lipid profile of patients were extracted and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Atherogenic risk was determined using three different risk ratios: atherogenic plasma index and Castelli’s risk indices-I and II. Results: The study included a total of 51 adult patients with the age range 18–75 years and male: female ratio of 1:1.4. Dyslipidemia observed in participants was majorly in the form of low high-density lipoprotein 24 (49.0%) and elevated low-density lipoprotein 11 (22.5%). Using atherogenic plasma index, more than one-quarter of participants 15 (30.6%) were found to be in the high- and medium-risk groups. Conclusion: Incidental findings of dyslipidemia made in this group of patients have its associated health implications. Hence, it buttresses the importance of assessing for and adequate management of the medical condition, particularly in a group of patients already burdened with CVD.