In patients with ischemic stroke, initial hyperlactatemia appears to be an independent risk factor for poor outcomes, according to South Korean investigators. In a retrospective analysis involving 292 patients with ischemic stroke, 183 individuals (62.7%) were considered to have poor outcomes and 16 (5.5%) died. Seventy (24.0%) of the study participants had initial hyperlactatemia. In multivariable logistic regression analyses, hyperlactatemia was associated with a 2.15-times greater risk of poor outcome at 3 months and a 4.31-times greater risk of death when compared with those without hyperlactatemia.

Abstract: American Journal of Emergency Medicine, March 2012.