Table 2.
Baseline characteristics across lactate categories
| Characteristic | Low lactate, n = 55 | Intermediate lactate, n = 31 | High lactate, n = 37 | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (y) | 68 (58–80) | 78 (55–86) | 70 (58–80) | .41 |
| Male sex (%) | 30 (55) | 20 (65) | 20 (54) | .61 |
| Comorbid disease | ||||
| Coronary artery disease (%) | 24 (44) | 11 (35) | 11 (30) | .39 |
| Congestive heart failure (%) | 20 (36) | 6 (19) | 10 (27) | .24 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (%) | 16 (29) | 2 (6.5) | 9 (24) | .05 |
| Diabetes (%) | 19 (35) | 10 (32) | 14 (38) | .89 |
| Hypertension (%) | 30 (55) | 14 (45) | 19 (51) | .71 |
| Kidney disease (%) | 16 (29) | 10 (32) | 7 (19) | .41 |
| Liver disease (%) | 1 (1.8) | 2 (6.5) | 6 (16) | .03 |
| Initial vitals | ||||
| Temperature (°F) | 98.8 (97.6–99.8) | 99.3 (97.8–101.0) | 98.0 (96.2–100.2) | .03 |
| Heart rate (beats per minute) | 96 (83–112) | 108 (91–121) | 94 (71–119) | .17 |
| Respiratory rate (beats per minute) | 20 (16–22) | 20 (16–28) | 27 (18–32) | .01 |
| Mean arterial pressure (mm Hg) | 70 (62–80) | 66 (59–87) | 78 (61–89) | .64 |
| Laboratory data | ||||
| White blood cell (×103/μL) | 11.4 (7.8–5.7) | 11.1 (6.4–19.9) | 16.1 (10.3–23.4) | .02 |
| Hematocrit (%) | 33.4 (29.6–37.8) | 34.6 (28.9–40.8) | 34.9 (31.5–41.3) | .35 |
| Platelets (×103/μ L) | 247 (175–370) | 211 (137–294) | 265 (171–338) | .24 |
| Glucose (mg/dL) | 131 (106–172) | 133 (99–164) | 124 (86–188) | .63 |
| INR | 1.2 (1.1–1.7) | 1.4 (1.2–2.5) | 1.6 (1.3–3.4) | .03 |
| ALT (U/L) | 22 (15–48) | 24 (13–59) | 38 (27–123) | <.001 |
| AST (U/L) | 27 (18–52) | 26 (24–75) | 55 (38–179) | <.001 |
| Creatinine | 1.4 (1.0–2.6) | 1.6 (1.2–2.6) | 2.2 (1.2–3.4) | .16 |
| Lactic acid (mmol/L) | 1.8 (1.3–2.1) | 3.1 (2.7–3.4) | 5.2 (4.4–7.1) | |
| Infection source | ||||
| Lung (%) | 27 (49) | 12 (39) | 13 (35) | .81 |
| Urine (%) | 11 (20) | 8 (26) | 8 (22) | |
| Intraabdominal (%) | 4 (7.3) | 5 (16) | 6 (16) | |
| Other/unknown (%) | 13 (24) | 6 (19) | 10 (27) | |
| Acute liver injury | 5 (9.1) | 3 (10) | 14 (38) | <.001 |
| Acute renal injury | 22 (40) | 15 (48) | 22 (59) | .19 |
| Blood culture positive | 6 (11) | 10 (32) | 16 (43) | .02 |
| Intubated | 22 (37) | 18 (58) | 18 (49) | .16 |
| Vasopressor time (h) | 57 (27–101) | 65 (31–101) | 68 (25–110) | .77 |
| APACHE II | 17 (12–24) | 20 (13–27) | 23 (18–30) | .02 |
| SOFA | 6 (5–9) | 7 (6–12) | 8 (6–10) | .03 |
| 28-day mortality | 11 (20) | 9 (29) | 16 (43) | .06 |
Medians and IQR are reported for continuous variables.
Categorical variables are reported as frequencies with percentages.