Liver function and lactate metabolism in the ill surgical patient

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Abstract
Liver function and lactate metabolism were investigated in non-shocked, severely ill surgical patients. Fasting venous blood lactate concentration was increased and plasma liver function tests were abnormal in ill patients compared with controls. III patients were glucose-intolerant and blood lactate changes following intravenous glucose infusion were similar in both ill and control patients. Blood lactate half-life was increased in ill patients following a sodium L-lactate infusion, suggesting that the increased fasting lactate concentration may have been due to decreased hepatic removal rather than to increased peripheral production of lactate.