The accuracy of the Lactate Pro hand-held analyser to determine blood lactate in healthy dogs.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to determine the accuracy of the Lactate Pro hand-held analyser in measuring blood lactate levels.


METHODS
Blood was drawn from 15 healthy dogs into five tubes containing Na-EDTA. Lactate was measured immediately using the Lactate Pro analyser and a laboratory reference method. Further samples were analysed 120, 240, 480 and 1440 minutes later to artificially increase the lactate levels. Lactate was measured in blood samples of 60 healthy dogs using the Lactate Pro analyser to determine the reference interval of lactate concentration in normal dogs.


RESULTS
The correlation between the lactate concentration measured with the Lactate Pro analyser and the reference method was high. Lactate levels were lower when measured with the hand-held analyser than with the traditional laboratory determination. The reference interval for blood lactate concentrations in healthy dogs established by the Lactate Pro analyser was from the detection limit (0.8 mmol/l) up to 3.3 mmol/l.


CONCLUSIONS
The Lactate Pro analyser provides quick and reliable measurements of blood lactate in dogs with blood lactate levels up to 10 mmol/l. Because of its small sample size, this analyser will be particularly appropriate for use in small animal intensive care.
Department of Medicine and Clinical Biology of Small Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
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Tas
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De Rooster
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Baert
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Doom
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Duchateau
D000818:Animals; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary*; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary*; D004285:Dogs / Q000097:blood*; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation; D005260:Female; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013997:Time Factors
D019344:Lactic Acid