This study aims to assess the correlation between plasma lactate concentrations measured in the arterial blood during the first 6 hours of life, and neonatal mortality during the first 3 days of life.

This observational study which used a historical cohort, collected data from the clinical records of all newborns admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit at a Brazilian hospital between June 2005 and February 2007, in order to predict early neonatal mortality.

The newborns were divided in 2 groups according to the plasma lactate concentration established as the cutoff point to predict early neonatal death during the first 3 days of life using a ROC curve.

This study found that newborns with plasma lactate levels > 4.2 mmol/L during the first 6 hours of life had higher odds of dying within the first 3 days of life.

This investigation was carried out by Herminia Guimarães Couto Fernandez, Alan Araújo Vieira and Adauto Dutra Moraes Barbosa, and published in 2012 by Revista Brasileira de Terapia Intensiva.

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The correlation between plasma lactate concentrations and early neonatal mortality