J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2020 Feb;31(1):105-110.

Utility of lactate measurement in the diagnosis of serious bacterial infection in young infants

• Kim JH
• Lee DW
• Moon HJ
• Kim DE
• Lee HJ
• Jeong DK
• Jo SP
• Kim HJ
• Lee JW
• Choi JH

Abstract

Objective
Serious bacterial infection (SBI) is a common disease among infants, and it is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Making the diagnosis of SBI is challenging and measurement of various biomarkers is useful. This study examined the utility of lactate at an emergency department for diagnosing SBI patients.
Methods
This was a retrospective, observational study of febrile infants less than 90 days old presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary hospital between September 2014 and August 2017. The demographic and laboratory data was collected through a chart review.
Results
Laboratory tests such as the white blood cell count, C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin, and lactate showed significant differences on the Student-T test and the Mann Whitney-U test. Multivariabe logistic regression test was done using the variables with significant differences. CRP (P=0.037; odds ratio, 1.01), procalcitonin (P=0.011; odds ratio, 1.02) and lactate (P=0.001; odds ratio, 2.38) shows significant correlation.
Conclusion
For febrile infants at the emergency department, the measurement of lactate is expected to be a useful tool to diagnose serious bacterial infection.

Keyword

Infection; Lactic acid; Biomarker