Lactate is a product of anaerobic metabolism that serves as a valuable prognostic marker in both human and veterinary medicine.
Increased lactate levels (hyperlactatemia) result from tissue hypoxia caused by local or systemic hypoperfusion and/or inadequate oxygen delivery [1,2]. Blood lactate measurements indicate how adequately oxygen is being delivered throughout the body, providing a way to assess the severity of cardiovascular or pulmonary disease, for example, how the body responds to treatment and to predict health outcomes, aiding decisions about improving survival [3,4].
In cattle, measuring lactate concentrations is used to measure the severity of various conditions, including respiratory disease, displacement of the abomasum (a ruminant’s fourth stomach), and neonatal diarrhea [2].
More recently, lactate has been used to compare the fitness of pregnant versus non-pregnant cows which farmers could use to make judgements as to whether a cow is fit enough to calf again; and to compare exercised versus non-exercised cows, enabling agricultural and animal welfare inspectors to assess how much exercise a cow has recently had.
Research has also shown that newborn calves requiring assisted delivery due to dystocia (abnormal labor) have higher lactate levels compared to calves that do not need assistance [2]. A scoring system called APGAR, which assesses the health of newborn calves, is negatively correlated with blood lactate levels [2].
Measuring lactate concentrations in cattle
Increasingly, lactate analysis is being performed for the prognosis and diagnosis of various conditions and diseases in veterinary medicine [5]. Traditionally, lactate has been measured in serum or plasma samples in the laboratory. Still, the increased availability of handheld lactate analyzers for on-the-spot, point-of-care (POC) analysis provides the opportunity to monitor whole blood lactate concentration in real-time at the animal’s side [6].
Although the prognostic value of blood lactate levels in ruminant medicine has not been widely documented, their reliability has been validated in two recent studies.
Case study: Lactate measurement in cows at Freie Universität Berlin
Researchers at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, measured blood in various bovine conditions, including dystocia and parturition— the process of giving birth [2].
The researchers compared factors that influence lactate measures in dairy cows, including the use of different anticoagulants and various techniques. They then tested the accuracy and reliability of the Lactate Scout hand-held device from EKF Diagnostics compared with a standard laboratory lactate analysis method.
The team found no difference in lactate concentration when using lithium heparin blood samples, regardless of whether the Lactate Scout or the standard laboratory method was employed.
The study concludes that the use of lithium heparin as an anti-coagulant with the Lactate Scout serves as a valuable tool for the simple, reliable, and accurate measurement of blood lactate in cows and calves at the animal’s side [2].
Case study: Lactate measurement in sheep at Ataturk University, Turkey
Researchers at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ataturk University in Turkey, studied using the Lactate Scout as a POC instrument for determining blood L-lactate concentration in sheep [1].
The study examined sheep of various ages with a range of diseases. The researchers compared blood lactate levels measured with the Lactate Scout to plasma lactate levels measured with the Cobas autoanalyzer, using the latter as a standard laboratory reference.
The study demonstrated that the Lactate Scout had an accuracy of 98% and a precision of 99% compared to the reference method, concluding that the Lactate Scout is a reliable point-of-care (POC) analyzer for assessing lactate levels in ovine medicine.
EKF Diagnostics’ Lactate Scout
Rapid, cost-effective, and reliable animal-side results can be obtained using the Lactate Scout as a prognostic and diagnostic tool in veterinary medicine [5].
A simple and convenient device, the Lactate Scout, involves only three steps: the sensor is removed and placed into the analyser, the flesh is pricked, the blood is collected by touching the sensor, and the results are generated after a 10-second wait [8]. It requires only 0.2µl of capillary blood, and up to 250 results can be stored on the device.
References:
- [1] Baydar et al (2015). Reliability of the Lactate Scout point-of-care instrument for the determination of blood L-lactate concentration in sheep. Veterinary Clinical Pathology.; 44: 559–563 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/vcp.12288
- [2] Burfeind and Heuwieser (2012). Validation of handheld meters to measure blood L-lactate concentration in dairy cows and calves. Journal of Dairy Science. 95: 6449–6456 https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(12)00648-0/fulltext
- [3] Constable (1999) Blood Lactate and Pyruvate Concentrations in Cattle with Abomasal Volvulus. Dairy Cattle. Illinois Livestock Trail http://livestocktrail.illinois.edu/dairynet/paperDisplay.cfm?ContentID=303
- [4] Sharkey (2013) Use of Lactate in Small Animal Clinical Practice. Veterinary Clinics of North America Small Animal Practice 43: 1287−97 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258062768_Use_of_Lactate_in_Small_Animal_Clinical_Practice
- [5] Lactate Testing for Veterinary Applications. EKF Diagnostics for Life https://www.ekfdiagnostics.com/lactate-testing-for-veterinary-applications.html
- [6] Higgins (2008) Lactate measurement – point of care versus the laboratory. Acutecaretesting.org https://acutecaretesting.org/en/journal-scans/lactate-measurement-point-of-care-versus-the-laboratory
- [7] Lactate Scout+ Lactate analyser. Fast, accurate and reliable lactate measurement. EKF Diagnostics for Life https://www.ekfdiagnostics.com/lactate-scout.html
- [8] Lactate Scout 4 – Lactate Analyzer for athletes. Accurate lactate measurement to drive performance improvement. EKF Diagnostics for Life https://www.ekfdiagnostics.com/lactate-scout.html
