Description

A 45 year old woman was referred to the lipid clinic because of severe hypertriglyceridaemia. She had been admitted four times in as many years with acute abdominal pain attributed to acute pancreatitis. Each time extremely lipaemic serum had been reported by the laboratory. This had precluded the measurement of serum amylase. On her last admission her lipid profile was reported as: Cholesterol 28 mmol/L, Triglycerides 179 mmol/L. She denied alcohol intake. She was overweight (body mass index 29 kg/m2) but examination was unremarkable. Following discharge she had been given dietary advice regarding a low fat, weight-reducing diet. Due to claimed food sensitivities the patients diet was already quite restricted and she had been avoiding dairy products as they caused diarrhoea. She had also been started on fenofibrate (Lipantil) 100 mg and omega-3 marine triglycerides (Maxepa) 5 capsules, both twice daily. Her lipids remained elevated, however at Cholesterol 9.1 mmol/L, Triglycerides 105 mmol/L.