Evaluation of 3 handheld portable analyzers for measurement of L-lactate concentrations in blood and peritoneal fluid of horses with colic.
Authors: Nieto Jorge E, Dechant Julie E, le Jeune Sarah S, Snyder Jack R
Journal: Veterinary surgery : VS
Summary
# Editorial Summary Lactate measurement is increasingly used in equine colic cases to assess tissue perfusion and guide surgical decision-making, yet the reliability of portable analysers in clinical practice has not been thoroughly validated against laboratory standards. Researchers compared three handheld lactate devices (Lactate Pro, Lactate Plus, and a third analyser) with a bench-top blood gas analyser by measuring L-lactate concentrations in blood and peritoneal fluid samples from colic cases across multiple time points, assessing both repeatability and agreement with laboratory chromogenic assays. Whilst all portable analysers demonstrated acceptable reliability for peritoneal fluid measurement, two devices showed poor repeatability for mid-range blood lactate concentrations, and all three tended to diverge from bench-top readings at higher lactate levels—a critical limitation when elevated values typically trigger surgical intervention. The Lactate Pro and Lactate Plus offered the closest agreement with laboratory standards for peritoneal fluid and blood respectively, though clinicians should recognise that results cannot be directly compared across different devices. Given these analytical variations, practitioners must avoid applying lactate cutoff thresholds from published studies without considering which specific analyser was used in that research, as portable devices may mask or exaggerate the clinical significance of marginal findings.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Portable lactate analyzers are viable field alternatives for colic assessment, but choose devices carefully—Lactate Pro is most reliable for peritoneal fluid while Lactate Plus is best for blood samples
- •Be aware that different analyzers may give different results, particularly at higher lactate concentrations, so avoid directly comparing values or cutoffs from studies using different devices
- •Portable analyzers are most trustworthy at lower lactate concentrations; use extra caution interpreting moderately elevated readings, especially for blood samples, and consider bench-top confirmation if results will significantly alter clinical decisions
Key Findings
- •Portable lactate analyzers demonstrated good intra-analyzer reliability for peritoneal fluid but two analyzers showed poor reliability for mid-range blood L-lactate concentrations
- •Lactate Pro and Lactate Plus analyzers showed highest agreement with bench top analyzer for peritoneal fluid and blood L-lactate respectively
- •Portable analyzers showed greater measurement accuracy at low L-lactate concentrations compared to higher concentrations when compared to bench top analyzer
- •Bench top analyzer and Lactate Pro showed highest agreement with chromogenic laboratory assay for peritoneal fluid L-lactate measurements