A 62-year-old man on ICU with severe sepsis has a lactate of 6.5 mmol/L. After 6 hours of resuscitation, the repeat lactate is 3.2 mmol/L (51% clearan...

Question

A 62-year-old man on ICU with severe sepsis has a lactate of 6.5 mmol/L. After 6 hours of resuscitation, the repeat lactate is 3.2 mmol/L (51% clearance). According to the Surviving Sepsis Campaign, is this lactate clearance adequate?

Accepted Answer

Yes - lactate clearance ≥20% over 2-6 hours indicates adequate resuscitation response; this 51% clearance is reassuring

Answer

No - lactate should normalise completely within 6 hours

Answer

Lactate clearance has no clinical value

Answer

Only absolute lactate values matter, not clearance

Answer

Lactate should increase during adequate resuscitation

uk-fficm MCQ (SBA): Lactate Clearance

A 62-year-old man on ICU with severe sepsis has a lactate of 6.5 mmol/L. After 6 hours of resuscitation, the repeat lactate is 3.2 mmol/L (51% clearance). According to the Surviving Sepsis Campaign, is this lactate clearance adequate?