Five methods for measuring low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration in serum compared.

Abstract

Five methods for the quantification of low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol were compared: ultracentrifugation, electrophoresis, precipitation with polyvinyl sulfate or heparin, and an indirect calculation procedure (Friedewald formula). Excellent agreement of results was obtained with all procedures for 49 of 51 sera. Discrepancies were as much as 1.69 g/L for the remaining two cases, which contained appreciable amounts of "floating" beta-cholesterol as detected with a combination of ultracentrifugation and electrophoresis.