[Influence of use of the direct LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) assay on diagnosis and treatment for patients with hyperlipidemia--analysis using the hospital information system].
Many hospitals have recently begun to use the direct LDL-C assay which can provide an accurate value of LDL-C concentration in serum with hyper-triglyceridemia. This may have altered diagnosis and treatment of patients with hyperlipidemia. To evaluate the influence of the use of the direct LDL-C assay, we analyzed medical data from the hospital information system. The total number of the direct LDL-C assays amounted to around 1,000 per month, while that of beta-lipoprotein fell to around 50 per month. The monthly number of patients who were treated with statin drugs did not increase: from 37.4+/-2.2 (mean+/-SD) to 37.5+/-1.3 per 1,000 outpatients (p=0.932). Also the monthly number of patients who were prescribed statin drugs for the first time remained at a similar level: from 1.6+/-0.5 to 1.3+/-0.2 per 1,000 outpatients (p=0.063). These results suggest that the determination of the LDL-C value has not significantly changed the diagnosis and treatment of patients with hyperlipidemia.
Goto
Shinichi
S
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Kasugai Municipal Hospital, Kasugai 486-8510.
Ohsawa
Isao
I
Watanabe
Tomoyuki
T
Sakai
Kazuko
K
Shibata
Kiyoshi
K
Kato
Takako
T
Oshida
Yoshiharu
Y
Sato
Yuzo
Y
D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood*; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006751:Hospital Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic
D015415:Biomarkers; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors