What is a normal serum lactate level?
Most labs define normal as 0.5 to 2.2 mmol/L for venous blood and 0.5 to 1.6 mmol/L for arterial blood. Serum lactate levels increase in lactic acidosis, severe dehydration, heart failure, respiratory failure, hemorrhage, ketoacidosis, severe infections, alcohol abuse, salicylate toxicity, shock, and liver disease.
What causes elevated lactate?
An increase in lactate production is typically caused by impaired tissue oxygenation, either from decreased oxygen delivery or a disorder in oxygen use, both of which lead to increased anaerobic metabolism.
What lactic acid level indicates sepsis?
Since the serum lactate level was decreased to 2 mmol/L, serum lactate level is a more sensitive marker for septic shock. Notably, serum lactate level >2 mmol/L indicates a condition that is similar to sepsis with low BP in this issue of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) (3).
What if your lactic acid is high?
Very high levels of lactic acid cause a serious, sometimes life-threatening condition called lactic acidosis. Lactic acidosis can also occur in a person who takes metformin (Glucophage) to control diabetes when heart or kidney failure or a severe infection is also present.
What is lactic acidosis symptoms?
The symptoms of lactic acidosis include abdominal or stomach discomfort, decreased appetite, diarrhea, fast, shallow breathing, a general feeling of discomfort, muscle pain or cramping, and unusual sleepiness, tiredness, or weakness. If you have any symptoms of lactic acidosis, get emergency medical help right away.
What is a critical lactate level?
The normal blood lactate concentration in an unstressed patient is 0.5-1 mmol/L. Patients with critical illness can be considered to have normal lactate concentrations of less than 2 mmol/L.
What level of lactic acid is fatal?
Mortality and morbidity. Patients who have an arterial lactate level of more than 5 mmol/L and a pH of less than 7.35 are critically ill and have a very poor prognosis. Multicenter trials have shown a mortality rate of 75% in these patients.
What lactate level is fatal?
The higher the serum lactate, the worse the degree of shock and the higher the mortality. Lactate levels higher than 4 mmol/L in patients with suspected infection have been shown to yield a 5-fold increase in the risk of death and are associated with a mortality approaching 30%.
How common is lactic acidosis with metformin?
Lactic acidosis is a rare but serious side effect of metformin use. The estimated incidence is 6 cases per 100,000 patient-years (9). The presence of metformin-associated hyperlactatemia in critical care patients has been associated with a mortality >30% (10).
