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In a retrospective study at a single level I trauma center, researchers evaluated whether initial lactate level and lactate clearance after 6 hours are independent predictors of mortality in adult trauma patients. Among 4742 patients with an initial (within 3 hours) lactate measurement, lactate clearance could be calculated for the 833 patients who had another measurement 6 hours later.
After adjustment for independent variables including age, Injury Severity Score, Glasgow Coma Scale score, heart rate, and blood pressure, initial lactate measurement significantly correlated with trauma-related mortality. Initial lactate <2.5 mg/dL was associated with 5.4% mortality, lactate 2.5 to 4.0 mg/dL with 6.4% mortality, and lactate >4.0 mg/dL with 1…