Blood lactate levels are useful indicators of mortality in pediatric ICU patients
In this study, Yolbaş et al. aim to establish the connection between the levels of blood lactate and the mortality rate of critically ill children admitted to the ICU of a Turkish hospital.
A total of 298 cases admitted to the ICU in 2007 were studied. Both the first measured blood lactate level and the arithmetic mean of all measured lactate levels during treatment were compared with mortality rates.
Yolbaş et al. concluded that blood lactate levels could be a useful indicator for determination of the disease severity, prognosis and the mortality risk in pediatric ICU patients.
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