[Lactate acidosis: a rare or common disease?].

The authors present a survey of 50 documented cases of metabolic lactic acidosis (MLAC) recorded in the course of 5 years. To this study cases of severe hyperlactataemia (determined minimum lactate level of concentration 4 mmol/l) have been included. The sample consists of patients hospitalized at the Department of Internal Medicine Litomĕrice (hinterland of about 110,000 inhabitants). Liver involvement in 5 cases, cardiogenous shock in 6 cases, sepsis in 2 cases were the cause of lactic acidosis. The administration of biguanids (Adebit, Silubin R, Diformin) seems to be the probable cause in 21 cases, other cases were triggered by rarer causes. Dehydratation (16), vomiting (9), diarrhoea (11) dominate often in the clinical picture. The patients were admitted to the hospital often unconscious, with diagnose of vasculo-cerebral incidence, transitory ischaemic incidence... Quit rarely the typical Kussmaul's respiratory (only 9 cases) was recorded. Hyperlactatemia was usually associated with decrease of blood pH (theta = 7.12, pH less than 7.35 was recorded in 49 cases, pH less than 6.8 in 5 cases) and with decrease of BE value (= Ccoase, theta = -15.3 mmol/l). When the hypochloremia and/or hypocapnia was simultaneously more severe, only in these cases the value of pH was within physiological limits or even increased (10). The conclusions show that MLAC is not a rare disorder, however, its occurrence is depended rather on the clinician's capacity to diagnose this disorder and to indicate lactate examination. Usual signs of acidosis (Kussmaul's respiratory, decrease of pH, decrease of BE) can be missing in many cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)