Lactate Testing - Veterinary & Racing Animals

 

Testing lactate in the veterinary world refers to measuring the lactate level in the blood of animals. Lactate is a molecule produced during the metabolism of glucose (sugar) in cells, especially when cells do not receive sufficient oxygen to produce energy efficiently. This can occur during situations of intense physical activity, stress, illness, or when blood flow is restricted.

Measuring the lactate level in the blood of animals can provide valuable information about their health status and the functioning of various body systems. Here are some situations in which lactate measurements can be relevant in veterinary practice:

  1. Emergency Situations: During emergencies such as trauma, shock, severe infections, or heart issues, lactate levels can rapidly increase due to reduced oxygen supply to cells. Measuring lactate can help assess the severity of the situation and make decisions about necessary medical interventions.


  2. Sports Medicine: In sport animals like horses and dogs, measuring lactate during and after intense exertion can provide insights into their endurance and performance capabilities. Elevated lactate levels can indicate excessive exertion or inadequate training.


  3. Critical Illnesses: Animals suffering from severe illnesses such as sepsis or organ failure may exhibit high lactate levels due to reduced oxygen supply and metabolism issues. Monitoring lactate levels can help assess prognosis and the effect of treatments.


  4. Surgery: Before and after surgical procedures, measuring lactate levels in an animal's blood can help estimate the stress on the body during the procedure and track the recovery process.


Lactate measurement is usually performed by taking a blood sample from the animal and analyzing it using laboratory equipment. The results are often expressed in millimoles per liter (mmol/L) or milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

In general, monitoring lactate levels in veterinary practice can provide valuable information to veterinarians for diagnosing conditions, assessing the severity of certain situations, and making decisions about necessary treatments.



Lactate testing in the veterinary field works in a very similar way to the human application. Lactate measurements are carried out to determine the performance of racing animals like horses or dogs, to monitor organ dysfunction, inflammatory processes in critically ill animals or in a multitude of basic research applications.

The Lactate Scout+ analyzer meets the demands of veterinary use very well. A wide measurement range of 0.5 – 25 mmol/L covers the typical values of different species. E.g. racing horses have a very high “maxlass” (being the highest stable or balanced lactate level during exercise) of above 20 mmol/L, a level at which the Lactate Scout+ still delivers accurate results.

The Lactate Scout+ also compensates for the influence of hematocrit on the lactate reading which can vary for different species and conditions.

The very small sample volume of only 0.2 µl for performing a lactate test makes the device suitable even for repeated testing on small pets, birds or rodents without creating a problem of blood withdrawal.

 

The Accutrend Lactate testing system has been used by veterinarians since 1997 and is currently being used by over 10 veterinary teaching hospitals and 100 emergency veterinarians. Newer portable analyzers, the Lactate Scout and the Lactate Plus will be evaluated for use in veterinary situations in the near future. For example, the Lactate Scout was recently evaluated by veterinarians from the US and the UK.

ACCURACY OF A PORTABLE MONITOR (LACTATE SCOUT)FOR MEASUREMENT OF LACTATE CONCENTRATIONS IN CANINE BLOOD. L. Ferasin1, S.J. Dodkin2, A. Amodio2, J.K.
Murray2, K. Papasouliotis2. 1College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA; and 2Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, U.K.                                               

Abstract - The study was performed to evaluate the accuracy of a portable analyser (Lactate Scout) in measuring canine blood lactate concentrations. First, the effect of sample storage time and temperature on plasma lactate concentrations was evaluated on blood samples obtained from 6 dogs and stored at 48C and 208C. Plasma lactate was measured with a spectrophotometric system (Kone lab) 30, 60, 120, and 240 min after blood collection. The obtained values were compared with the lactate concentration measured immediately after the blood collection. Statistical analysis revealed no significant effects of storage time or temperature. The comparison of lactate values obtained by the portable method with those obtained by the reference analyser (Konelab) was performed on blood samples from 48 dogs. The correlation between methods was r 5 0.98 (sl 5 0.81; int 5 0.20) The level of agreement (Bland Altman) was good for mean concentrations lower than 5 mmol/L. At higher concentrations the Scout analyser values were lower than those measured by the Konelab method, although only 5 of the 48 samples analysed in this study had a lactate result above this value. In summary the Lactate Scout meter exhibits good comparability with the reference Konelab method in the range 0-5 mmol/L.

European Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology (ESVCP) Special Program - In conjunction with the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Companion Animals (ECVIM-CA) 16th Congress, Amsterdam, The Netherlands - September 14-16, 2006

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