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Updated: Oct 14, 2026
Evaluation of Blood Lactate and Plasma Insulin During High-intensity Exercise by Antecubital Vein Catheterization
Published on: May 18, 2018
Usefulness of plasma lactate concentration in the diagnosis of acute abdominal disease
Objective:
To verify the diagnostic importance of the plasma lactate concentration in acute abdominal disease and to examine its role as a marker of mesenteric ischaemia.
Design:
Prospective study.
Setting:
Two departments of surgery, one in Sweden and one in Germany.
Subjects:
85 patients with acute abdominal symptoms.
Main Outcome Measures:
Correlation between the plasma lactate concentration before operation or (in the case of those not operated on) before the diagnosis was established, and the final diagnosis.
Results:
Plasma lactate concentrations exceeded the reference range in all cases of mesenteric ischaemia (n = 20) and general bacterial peritonitis (n = 15) and in half of the 20 cases of intestinal obstruction. They were also raised in 3 of 10 cases of acute pancreatitis.
Conclusions:
A raised plasma lactate concentration is always a sign of an acute life-threatening condition, and usually indicates the need for an emergency operation. As a marker of mesenteric ischaemia its sensitivity was 100% and its specificity 42%. We conclude that a raised serum lactate concentration is the best marker of mesenteric ischaemia to date.
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