Critical Care

official impact factor 4.60

Commentary

The origin and interpretation of hyperlactataemia during low oxygen delivery states

Jonathan Handy

Author Affiliations

Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, Imperial College London, 369 Fulham Road, London SW10 9NH, UK

Critical Care 2006, 11:104 doi:10.1186/cc5137

Published: 12 January 2007

Abstract

The origin of hyperlactataemia during critical illness is complex but its presence can provide an indicator of inadequate tissue oxygen delivery. Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) represents a unique situation where systemic oxygen delivery can be directly measured and controlled. In the previous issue of Critical Care, Ranucci and colleagues use this phenomenon to identify independent variables associated with the development of hyperlactataemia during CPB. In doing so they highlight the complexity of interpreting hyperlactataemia during critical illness and provide further evidence of its association with worse postoperative morbidity.