COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF CHANGES IN SERUM CHOLESTEROL AND CORTISOL LEVELS AFTER TRAUMA AND SURGERY

Abstract

The study included 19 patients undergoing abdominal surgery and 30 trauma patients who were monitored for total cholesterol during hospital treatment. Cortisol, free thyroxine (fT4) and free triiodothyronine (fT3) were also studied in some patients (24 in number). The aim of the study was to compare the levels of cholesterol and hormones in the two groups. The levels of cholesterol and cortisol examined in the early postoperative period in the operated patients were compared with those of the post-traumatic patients taken immediately after their admission to ICU, and in the next few days. The results showed significantly lower serum cholesterol levels in the trauma group and higher baseline cortisol levels in the same group. High cortisol and low cholesterol levels in trauma patients immediately after ingestion indicated the severity of the trauma. The smaller deviation from normal values in the group of operated patients was the evidence of the role of anesthesia and analgesia in reducing perioperative stress and pain.

Keywords

• anesthesia
• trauma
• stress
• cholesterol
• cortisol