Liver function and lactate metabolism in the ill surgical patient

Liver function and lactate metabolism were investigated in non-shocked, severely ill surgical patients. Fasting venous blood lactate concentration was increased and plasma liver function tests were abnormal in ill patients compared with controls. Ill patients were glucose-intolerant and blood lactate changes following intravenous glucose infusion were similar in both ill and control patients. Blood lactate half-life was increased in ill patients following a sodium L-lactate infusion, suggesting that the increased fasting lactate concentration may have been due to decreased hepatic removal rather than to increased peripheral production of lactate.