Postoperative lactate elevation as a marker of underlying acute mesenteric ischemia. Description of two cases

Serum lactate is a non-specific marker of tissue hypoperfusion. Elevated serum lactate is used in the differential diagnosis of acute intestinal ischemia. Although this practice is controversial, in the absence of other validated markers lactate is still used because of its high sensitivity. We present the cases of two patients who developed acute mesenteric ischemia as a post-surgical complication. The patients reported moderate abdominal pain -a non-specific symptom in the postoperative context- and tests showed progressively increasing serum lactate levels, which facilitated suspicion and subsequent diagnostic confirmation through an imaging test. These cases highlight the physiopathological importance of lactate elevation in the perioperative context and of performing a differential diagnosis of its possible causes, including mesenteric ischemia. Although the outcome was negative in the first case, early suspicion allowed us to make an effective diagnosis and administer appropriate treatment in the second patient.