This study was carried out by Jean-Louis Vincent, Amanda Quintairos e Silva, Lúcio Couto Jr and Fabio S. Taccone and published in 2016 by the journal Critical Care ( 20:257 DOI 10.1186/s13054-016-1403-5)

Several studies have been performed over time by a variety of authors regarding the blood lactate concentrations in a clinical setting, and since the early studies, blood lactate concentrations have been widely used as a marker of altered tissue perfusion in critically ill patients. Even minor increases in lactate concentrations are associated with higher mortality rates.

Vincent et al. identified studies from various databases which evaluated the capacity of serial blood lactate concentrations to predict outcome. 96 of all studies met their inclusion criteria.

According to the authors, their literature review clearly supports the value of serial lactate measurements in the evaluation of critically ill patients and their response to therapy. This was not limited to septic patients.

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