Computed exercise plasma lactate concentrations: A conversion formula

Blood lactate measurements are common as a marker of skeletal muscle metabolism in sport medicine. Due to the close equilibrium between the extracellular and intramyocellular space, plasma lactate is a more accurate estimate of muscle lactate. However, whole blood-based lactate measurements are more convenient in field use. The purpose of this investigation was therefore (1) to establish a plasma-converting lactate formula for field use, and (2) to validate the computed plasma lactate levels by comparison to a laboratory standard method.

A total of 91 venous samples were taken from 6 individuals with type 1 diabetes during resting and exercise conditions and assessed for whole blood and plasma lactate using the YSI 2300 analyzer. A linear model was applied to establish a formula for converting whole blood lactate to plasma lactate. The validity of computed plasma lactate values was assessed by comparison to a laboratory standard method.

Whole blood YSI lactate could be converted to plasma YSI values (slope 1.66, intercept 0.12) for samples with normal hematocrit. Computed plasma levels compared to values determined by the laboratory standard method using Passing-Bablok regression yielded a slope of 1.03 (95%CI:0.99:1.08) with an intercept of -0.11 (95%CI:-0.18:-0.06).

Whole blood YSI lactate values can be reliably converted into plasma values which are in line with laboratory determined plasma measurements.