Utility of blood lactate level in triage

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Critical Care
• Biomarkers

Background:

• Current triage systems like Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (START) and Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) may lack accuracy.
• Blood lactate level (BLL) is a critical biomarker for assessing patient physiological status.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the correlation between blood lactate levels (BLL) and triage assessments using START and CTAS.
• To determine if BLL can improve triage accuracy and guide treatment prioritization.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 510 patients admitted to an emergency department.
• Measured BLL using the Lactate Pro-1710 Test Meter.
• Correlated BLL with triage levels (START and CTAS) and patient prognosis.

Main Results:

• Significant correlations were found between BLL and both START and CTAS triage levels.
• BLL was significantly higher in severe patients and those who died (P < 0.0001).
• Elevated BLL in 'yellow' categorized patients indicated a worse prognosis.

Conclusions:

• Blood lactate levels can serve as an objective tool to refine triage decisions.
• BLL measurement can help prevent under-triage and optimize treatment prioritization.
• Integrating BLL assessment can enhance emergency care and patient outcomes.