Differential Diagnosis: Hypocholesterolemia

Following are differential diagnoses, listed in order of likelihood, for patients presented with hypocholesterolemia.

• Severe icterus (false decrease)

• Protein-losing enteropathy (eg, lymphangiectasia, inflammatory bowel disease, lymphoma, infectious agents such as Heterobilharzia americana)

• Liver disease such as portosystemic shunt, ductal plate malformation, or liver failure (eg, secondary to toxins such as Sago palm)

• Hypoadrenocorticism

• Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency

• Hemophagocytic syndrome; can be seen in association with a variety of infectious and noninfectious diseases, including immune-mediated diseases and certain tumors (due to decreased synthesis and/or increased catabolism secondary to inflammatory cytokines)

• Histiocytic sarcoma (dogs)

• Multiple myeloma (cats)

• Acute myeloid leukemia

• Lymphoma