Capillary and Venous Lactate Agreement: a pilot prospective observational study

Area of Science:

• Clinical chemistry
• Critical care medicine
• Biomarker research

Background:

• Blood lactate levels serve as a critical indicator of patient illness severity.
• Capillary lactate (CAP-LACT) measurement offers potential for improved patient screening.
• Current evidence for the clinical utility of CAP-LACT remains limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the agreement between capillary lactate (CAP-LACT) and peripheral venous lactate (PV-LACT) measurements.
• To evaluate the reliability of CAP-LACT as a substitute for PV-LACT in clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• A prospective observational pilot study was conducted.
• Data from 99 patients requiring lactate measurement were collected.
• Paired CAP-LACT and PV-LACT measurements were analyzed using Bland-Altman analysis.

Main Results:

• The bias between CAP-LACT and PV-LACT was determined to be 0.2 mmol/L.
• The 95% limits of agreement ranged from -1.9 to 2.3 mmol/L.
• These results indicate substantial variability between the two measurement methods.

Conclusions:

• Capillary lactate (CAP-LACT) demonstrates poor agreement with peripheral venous lactate (PV-LACT).
• The findings suggest that CAP-LACT may not be a reliable substitute for PV-LACT in its current form.
• Additional research is necessary to enhance the potential clinical utility of CAP-LACT.