Asking a child to not eat before sending them for blood work can be categorized as cruel and unusual punishment. In fact, ordering a fasting blood test is often a hindrance to compliance. A new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine concludes that the most common fasting test pediatricians order — the fasting lipid profile — can be drawn at any time. No fasting required:
Fasting times showed little association with lipid subclass levels in a community-based population, which suggests that fasting for routine lipid levels is largely unnecessary.
J. Michael Gaziano, MD, MPH adds:
[M]ost of our lipid profiles can be obtained in the nonfasting state, increasing convenience for our patients and ourselves and decreasing the burden on the laboratory, with no real adverse effect on clinical decision making.
Yay for everybody!
Read study here:
Read Dr. Gaziano’s commentary here: