A clinical comparison of calculated versus direct measurement of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level.

Study Objectives: To determine if, and to what extent, the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) level is underestimated when it is calculated by the Friedewald formula compared with the LDL level measured by a direct method. A secondary objective was to determine and compare the percentages of patients meeting LDL goal using each of these two methods.

Design: Retrospective chart review.