Yolbaş  et al. carried out this study in order to determine relationship between blood lactate levels and the mortality rate in children admitted to the pediatric Intensive Care Unit of a Turkish University Hospital between Janu­ary 2007 and December 2007.

A total of 298 critically ill patients aged between 28 days and 16 years admitted to Dicle University Hospital, the third step Pediatric Intensive Care Unit were included in this study. Age, sex, diagnosis, Glasgow coma score points, the first mea­sured blood lactate levels (lactate 1) and the arithmetic average of all measured blood lactate levels during treat­ment (lactate 2) of cases were evaluated. Patients were divided into group A (lactate < 20 mg/dl) and B (lactate ≥ 20 mg/dl). According to the results, patients were classified as survivors and non-survivors. Both lactate 1 and lactate 2 were compared with mortality rates.

158 of the 298 patients included in this study were nonsurvivors and 140 were survi­vors. A significant correlation was found between lactate levels and mortality rates. Lactate levels were higher in non-survivor cases (p<0.001). In group B, lactate 1 had 68% (106/156) sensitivity and 75% (106/142) specificity for determining the risk of mortality. Also in group B, lac­tate 2 had 85% (134/158) sensitivity and 79% (134/169) specificity for determining the risk of mortality.

The authors concluded that there is a strong association between high blood lactate levels and mortality rates in the critically ill patients in pediatric intensive care unit. In these patients blood lactate levels can be used for follow-up and evalu­ation of the effectiveness of treatment and determining mortality.

This article was written in English by  İlyas Yolbaş, Velat Şen, Mehmet Boşnak, Selvi Kelekçi, Servet Yel and Ali Güneş, and published in Journal of Clinical and Experimental Investigations 2013; 4 (3): 269-273

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