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. 1989 Mar;27(3):385–388. doi: 10.1128/jcm.27.3.385-388.1989

D-lactic acid measurements in the diagnosis of bacterial infections.

S M Smith 1, R H Eng 1, J M Campos 1, H Chmel 1
PMCID: PMC267326  PMID: 2715313

Abstract

Body fluids suspected of bacterial infection were cultured and examined for the presence of D-lactic acid, a specific bacterial metabolite. We examined 206 patients and 264 specimens. D-Lactic acid was found in concentrations of greater than or equal to 0.15 mM in 11 of 11 infected and 6 of 40 noninfected ascitic fluids, 6 of 6 infected and 4 of 33 noninfected pleural fluids, 4 of 4 infected and 0 of 13 noninfected synovial fluids, and 26 of 27 infected and 2 of 130 noninfected cerebrospinal fluids. The overall sensitivity was 79.7%, and the specificity was 99.5% when the D-lactic acid concentration was at least 0.15 mM. The most important clinical utility of the D-lactic acid measurement appears to be for patients with bacterial infection in various body compartments and in patients who have already received antimicrobial therapy. An elevation in D-lactic acid may indicate the presence of bacterial infection even when cultures are negative.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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