Lactate Clearance Versus Base Deficit Correction in Monotoring of Septic Shock

Background Tissue perfusion and oxygenation monitoring is the fundamental of management to immediately identify and properly manage (impending) organ dysfunction in septic shock. This is a study of a prospective randomized trial that aims to comparing the prognostic value of lactate clearance versus base deficit correction as an indicator of tissue perfusion in septic shock, trying to prove the superiority of one over the other. Objective To assess the clinical utility of lactate clearance and arterial base deficit correction in predicting mortality in septic shock. Patients and Methods This is a Prospective randomized observational study that was conducted to assess the clinical utility of lactate clearance and arterial base deficit in predicting mortality in septic shock. This study included forty patients who were divided into two equal groups; each of twenty patients, group I (non-survivors), and group II (survivors). Results In this study, the base deficit values revealed statistically notable difference between the two groups at admission, 18 hours, 24 hours and 2 days of admission. The values revealed no notable difference at the 3rd. 4th, and 5th day of admission. At the 6th and 7th day of admission, the base deficit started to increase again in the non-survivor group with statistically notable increase in the values as compared to the survivor group. The cutoff point of base deficit to differentiate between nonsurvivors from survivors was > 11.43 with 62% sensitivity and 100% specificity. In this study, initial serum lactate levels at admission revealed higher accuracy in prediction of mortality as compared with initial base deficit. Conclusion Lactate clearance is a better predictor of mortality and morbidity than base deficit correction.