Cardiac arrest & resuscitation
Prehospital lactate, transfer time, and early mortality across emergency diagnostic categories
Authors' conclusion
The association between prehospital transfer time and early mortality varied substantially across emergency conditions and depended on baseline metabolic status as reflected by prehospital lactate levels.
Study context
- Population
- Adults attended by ALS EMS in Spain, February 2019–January 2026, with prehospital point-of-care lactate
- Participants
- 10,111 adults
- Exposure
- Interaction of prehospital lactate and transfer time on early mortality
- Outcome
- All-cause 48-hour mortality
- Follow-up
- 48 hours
Methodological detailsmulticentre, consecutive adults
- Multicentre
- Consecutive adults
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
48-hour mortality
- 48-hour mortality
- 9.5%
- Significant lactate × transfer time interaction
- p < .001
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Lactate and transfer time across diagnostic categories
- Differed significantly across diagnostic categories
- P < 0.001
- Trauma and endocrine-metabolic emergencies: strongest lactate-dependent time sensitivity
- Infectious diseases: strong monotonic lactate–mortality association, no significant interaction with transfer time
- Interaction predominantly in intermediate neurological impairment
Prehospital lactate
- Median prehospital lactate (IQR 1.78-4.19) mmol/L
- 2.65
Original publication
Prehospital lactate, transfer time, and early mortality across emergency diagnostic categories. Crit Care. Published 5 July 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →