Ethanol Alters the Cutoff for Abnormal Lactate and Base Deficit in Trauma Patients

In trauma patients, lactic acid or base deficit levels greater than 2 mmol/L predict higher mortality risk. To evaluate the influence of ethanol intoxication on these associations, researchers retrospectively reviewed data for 2482 patients admitted to a single trauma center between 2005 and 2014. Of these patients, 784 tested positive for ethanol.

In the ethanol-negative group, mortality was 2.6 times more likely in those with elevated lactate than in those without elevated lactate, and it was 1.9 times more likely in those with elevated base deficit than in their counterparts. However, in the intoxicated group, there was no significant relationship between either lactate or base deficit and mortality. Secondary analyses suggested that a la…