FASTING IS NOT NECESSARY FOR LIPID TESTING: NIHIL PER OS NON IAM (Invited Lecture)



Samia Mora, M.D., Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Robust evidence supports the use of non-fasting blood draws for routine clinical practice and widespread adoption would be favorable for both patients and healthcare providers. The fasting panel now has a much more limited role, predominantly in the setting of abnormally high triglycerides and prior to starting treatment in patients with genetic lipid disorders. For the majority of patients though, the non-fasting test is safe, convenient and reflects an improvement in health care delivery. Methods to bring this testing strategy into mainstream clinical practice have been suggested by the 2016 European Atherosclerosis Society and European Federation of Laboratory Medicine consensus statement. The sooner this occurs, the sooner the benefits of efficient health care will be realized for patients and practitioners alike.