In-field lactate testing by emergency responders can significantly improve the triage of trauma patients en route to the hospital, according to a study published in the March issue of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. Point-of-care lactate (P-LAC) better predicts which trauma patients will need resuscitative care (RC), compared to traditionally used field measures based on vital signs. The authors say that more than 1.8 million trauma patients annually may be inappropriately undertriaged, increasing morbidity and mortality, as a result of imperfect prehospital trauma triage g! uidelines. Lactate, a circulating biomarker of organ perfusion failure, has been shown inhospital to be associated with mortality in patients with sepsis, myocardial infarction, and trauma. P-LAC devices, which can be used prehospital, operate similarly to glucometers, and cost only a few dollars per patient, may improve identification of underlying severe traumatic injury prior to arrival at the hospital. Data from nine sites (Level I or II trauma center) participating in the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium from March 2011 to August 2012 were used to compare prehospital P-LAC measurements with systolic blood pressure (SBP) for predicting the need for RC in trauma patients (SBP between 70 mm Hg and 100 mm Hg) transported […]