ED 3 AM:
ambulance rushes in, pt in his 40's unconscious, BP 50/20, HR 140. Reanimation is started and arterial gases are ordered: lactate 10! Two hours later, pt conscious, MAP >65, HR 100, new arterial gases are ordered: lactate 9.
Was reanimation unsuccesful?
Poll &
:

Was reanimation unsuccesful?
Poll &

First, let's go #BackToBasics w/ lactate:
2 enantiomers: L & D
Formed from pyruvate by LDH (usual ratio 10:1)
PKa 3.8 (lactate predominant over lactic acid)
Can be used for ATP formation or gluconeogenesis (lac
pyruvate
A-CoA or lac
pyruvate
oxaloacetate)








We tipically associate
w/
O2, but what else can
? Many things!:
Sepsis
Cyanide
CO
: MET, linezolid, paracetamol, NRTI's
thiamine
: Propylene glycol, methanol, ethanol
Malignancy
Cirrhosis
Severe asthma
surgery


















So lactate ≠
O2: so far, so good. But it surely does in shock states, right?

Back in 1958, Huckabee observed the relationship between "oxygen debt" and "excess lactate", plotting almost superposable curves from the relationship of them.
Then in 1970, Weil further supported this data w/ a
hemorrhagic shock model in which
again correlated w/ O2 debt
Then in 1970, Weil further supported this data w/ a


Furthermore, the classic division of type A and B
, assumes the former is always 2/2 a DO2/VO2 mismatch
anaerobic glycolysis, and is the cause of 
in the critically ill pt, whilst the latter represents 
w/o anaerobic glycolysis.
But... Is it always true?






But... Is it always true?

Not quite. In 1994, Boekstegers et al. measured skeletal muscle pO2 in three groups:
Sepsis
Limited infection
shock
They found pO2 to be
in sepsis compared to the other 2 groups, being
in more severe sepsis states!
But what about cellular dysoxia, you might ask?



They found pO2 to be


But what about cellular dysoxia, you might ask?
Well, some people asked themselves that same question before! In 1992, Hotchkiss et al. injected fluoromisonidazole (binds covalently to cells in inv proportion to cell O2 tension) in septic and sham operated
, finding no diff in it's concentration in various tissues (but
)


Furthermore, in 2012 Regueira et al. used 32
w/
peritonitis,
tamponade or hypoxemic hypoxia, demonstrating no increase in HIF-1α (hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha) in septic animals despite a 2x
in lactate levels!




Another theory in sepsis states for 
is a DO2/VO2 mismatch; this was studied in 9 septic critically ill pts by Ronco et al. back in 1993 and... found sepsis didn't modify critical O2 delivery threshold for anaerobic metabolism compared to controls!


Furthermore, in 1994 Hayes et al. tried to achieve the following goals w/volume
:
CI > 4.5 L/min/m²
DO2 >600 mL/min/m²
VO2 > 170 mL/min/m²
If
achieved,
randomized to dobutamine vs standard care. The results:
= MAP & VO2

in intervention group!




If






Ok, so where does lactate come from in sepsis?!
Well, here's an alt theory!
aerobic glycolisis 2/2
adrenergic state:
CHO metabolism exceeds mitochondria oxidative capacity
piruvate produced at
rates than PDH can convert to ACoA
piruvate
lac by mass effect
Well, here's an alt theory!







What supports this theory?:
Septic pts whole
mRNA analyisis:
GLUT-1, LDH, PKM-2, hexokinase-3, MCT-4
Isotope dilution methods:
Lac and glc turnover in 
Lac kinetics: normal removal (pb source:
production)
Cathecolamines
β2 rec
Na/K ATPase act













But do all organs produce lactate during sepsis? No! Some
production, but some
uptake!
The organs that mainly
lactate in exp models are
the lung and
the muscle. And uptakers?:
Gut


Kidney
So, as García-Álvarez et al. fairly put it:


The organs that mainly









So, as García-Álvarez et al. fairly put it:
Furthermore, studies using labeled exogenous lactate in septic px have shown that 50-60% goes to oxidation by cells, whilst the remaining 30-40% is used as substrate for glycogen synthesis, acting under stress as both:
Alt fuel to glucose
A source for glucose itself


From all we've reviewed, we can see why the "lactate clearance" approach in sepsis seems to be a goal not to be pursued. We can't know if its "clearance" is 2/2
production,
uptake, dilution by
or a combination of the three!
Besides, it's levels ≠
or
reanimation.



Besides, it's levels ≠


Time to wrap up:
Lactate can be
by A LOT of causes
O2 doesn't seem to be
lac origin in sepsis
Adrenergic
(both endo and exogenous) seems to account for most of lactate
in 
uptake by organs in
seems to be an energy adaptive mechanism












Hope you guys got here and enjoy reading the
as much as I enjoyed doing it! Sources (PMID):
5482913
8143474
1538541
8411504
7993413
13513756
22571590
22517402
25394679
24929216

5482913
8143474
1538541
8411504
7993413
13513756
22571590
22517402
25394679
24929216
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