About The Webinar
In recent years, the clinical utility of lactate in a variety of emergency and critical care conditions has been investigated. Whether in states of sepsis, hypovolemia or hemolytic anemia, lactate can give us various insights into our patient’s status. During this lecture, the physiology of lactate production will be reviewed, both in states of health and disease. Interpretation of lactate levels and lactate clearance will be addressed. Other questions such as the difference between Type A and Type B lactic acidosis, species differences between cats and dogs, and using lactate to determine the prognosis for a particular condition will be discussed. The current evidence for the role of lactate in clinical decision making in specific disease processes will be reviewed, including its limitations in certain scenarios. While lactate can’t be used as a sole parameter to guide clinical decisions, it is one important point of care test at our disposal that can enhance our understanding of complex clinical scenarios.