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Test Code LAC Lactic Acid

Important Note

Place IMMEDIATLY on ICE and send to Laboratory Service Center

Specimen and Container/Tube

Specimen Type: Plasma

Preferred Specimen: Gray Top + Ice (potassium oxalate/sodium fluoride)

Specimen Handling and Transport Instructions

UCMC Onsite Instructions: 

Collect specimen per standard collection procedure and send to laboratory immediately. 

 

UCMC Offsite and UC MedLab Outreach Instructions: 

  • Samples should be centrifuged within 2 hours of collection.
  • Centrifuge specimens at >2500 x g for 10 minutes at room temperature.
  • Aliquot sample into plastic transport tube containing a minimum of 0.2 mL of specimen.
  • Samples must be sent frozen at -20oC.

Rejection Criteria

  • Common specimen rejected situations include: incorrect specimen type, insufficient volume, missing or incomplete specimen identifiers, incorrect specimen transport, or specimens outside stability limits. 
  • Specimens that are clotted or grossly hemolyzed.
  • Specimens that were transported unspun/whole blood and draw time is greater than 6 hours.

Reference Values

 

Test

Age

Sex

Reference Range

LAC

All

All

0.7-2.1 mmol/L

Note: Reference range based on in-house studies, recommendations from Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry, and Roche product literature.  

Critical Values

Analyte

Unit

Low

High

Age

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

CPT Codes

83605

LOINC Codes

2524-7

Volume

Preferred Volume: 0.5 mL

Minimum Volume: 0.2 mL

Specimen Stability

Storage Temperature

Stability

Room temperature

8 hours*

Refrigerated

14 days

Frozen

1 month

 

*Must be separated from cells

Collection Instructions

Collect specimen per standard laboratory collection procedures. 

 

Test Components

Lactic Acid
 

Clinical Indications

Anaerobic glycolysis markedly increases blood lactate and causes some increase in pyruvate levels, especially with prolonged exercise. The common cause for increased blood lactate and pyruvate is anoxia resulting from such conditions as shock, pneumonia, and congestive heart failure. Lactic acidosis may also occur in kidney failure and leukemia. Thiamine deficiency and diabetic ketoacidosis are associated with increased levels of lactate and pyruvate.

 

Lactate measurements that evaluate the acid-base status are used in the diagnosis and treatment of lactic acidosis (abnormally high acidity in the blood).

Methodology

Colorimetric Assay (Roche Diagnostics)

Additional Information

Lactate concentration is determined using an enzymatic colorimetric method. L-lactate is oxidized to pyruvate by the specific enzyme lactate oxidase. Peroxidase is used to generate a colored dye using the hydrogen peroxide generated in the first reaction. The intensity of the color formed is directly proportional to the L-lactate concentration. It is determined by measuring the increase in absorbance.(Package insert: Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis IN, 02/2016)

Turnaround Time

Turnaround times are relative to the time the specimen is received in the test laboratory. 

 

STAT Turnaround Time: 1 hour

Routine Turnaround Time: 4 hours

Testing Schedule: 24/7

Synonyms/Keyword Search

L-Lactate, Blood

Lactate (L-Lactate)

Lactate, Blood

Lactic Acid (L-lactate)

Last Review Date

07/10/2024