Post-traumatic blood lipid changes and fat embolism. Relation of post-traumatic blood lipid changes and fat embolism syndrome.

Serum cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids, and lipoprotein levels were studied by electrophoresis in 43 trauma patients with multiple fractures of the lower extremities and pelvis. Ten healthy volunteers were used for control studies. The fat embolism syndrome was diagnosed in eight of the 43 patients. The lipid values of all the trauma patients were lower than the control values. A decrease in cholesterol and phospholipids was observed in the fat embolism patients during 4 days; these changes were not observed in the other trauma patients. The triglycerides of all the trauma patients increased slowly over a period of 4 days. Changes in the lipoprotein fractions after the trauma were minor. An early increase in the alpha1 lipbrotein fraction was noted in the fat embolism patients simultaneously with a decrease in the pre-beta lipoprotein fraction; the values of the other trauma patients were at the control levels. Normalization was observed in 6 hours. The lipid concentrations of plasma and serum did not change with filtration with 1.2, 5, and 8mum Millipore filters. No differences were noted between the femoral and cubital vein samples.