Of 230 patients, 153 patients were TBIL < 2 mg/dL and 77 patients of TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL in the derivation cohort (Table 1). In baseline characteristics, there was no significant difference in between patients with TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL and < 2 mg/dL except for higher levels of lactate on day 1 in the patients with TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL compared to TBIL < 2 mg/dL.
Table 1
Baseline characteristics, vital signs, blood gas analysis and laboratory data in the derivation cohort (CHIBA cohort, n = 230)
| TBIL < 2 mg/dL (n = 153) | TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL (n = 77) | P value |
Age, yr | 69 (59, 76) | 66 (56, 74) | 0.19 |
Male sex, n (%) | 91 (59.5) | 50 (64.9) | 0.51 |
APACHE II score 1) | 31 (26, 36) | 34 (24, 40) | 0.20 |
Comorbidity, n (%) | | | |
Congestive heart failure | 15 (9.8) | 12 (15.6) | 0.29 |
Chronic pulmonary disease | 7 (4.6) | 2 (2.6) | 0.71 |
End stage renal failure | 11 (7.2) | 9 (11.7) | 0.37 |
Hepatic cirrhosis | 7 (4.6) | 9 (11.7) | 0.084 |
Steroid use (> 7 days) | 25 (16.3) | 8 (10.4) | 0.31 |
Vital signs on Day1 | | | |
Body temperature, ℃ | 37.0 (36.5, 38.2) | 37.4 (36.6, 38.3) | 0.68 |
Heart rate, beats/min | 108 (94, 124) | 114 (98, 129) | 0.11 |
Mean arterial pressure, mmHg | 63 (55, 77) | 66 (56, 80) | 0.50 |
Blood gas analysis on Day1 | | | |
pH | 7.36 (7.28, 7.44) | 7.36 (7.29, 7.45) | 0.50 |
PaCO2, mmHg | 35 (29, 44) | 35 (29, 41) | 0.41 |
PaO2, mmHg | 99 (73, 147) | 97 (74, 154) | 0.85 |
Base excess, mmol/L | -4.6 (-8.2, 0.3) | -3.8 (-9.0, -0.2) | 0.99 |
Anion gap, mEq/L | 14.5 (11.8, 19.0) | 18.0 (12.0, 23.5) | 0.21 |
Lactate, mmol/L | 2.8 (1.5, 4.9) | 3.6 (1.9, 7.0) | 0.031 |
Laboratory data on Day1 | | | |
WBC, *103/mm3 | 108 (34, 171) | 111 (62, 166) | 0.52 |
Platelet, *105/mm3 | 13.2 (6.9, 23.1) | 7.7 (3.6, 12.7) | < 0.0001 |
Total bilirubin, mg/dL | 0.9 (0.6, 1.1) | 3.6 (2.7, 6.1) | < 0.0001 |
Creatinine, mg/dL | 1.67 (1.04, 2.57) | 1.81 (1.14, 3.03) | 0.28 |
Lactate level on Day2, mmol/L | 1.7 (1.2, 2.6) | 2.2 (1.5, 3.6) | 0.0023 |
Delta lactate Day1-2, mmol/L2) | 0.8 (0.0, 2.7) | 0.7 (0.0, 2.8) | 0.74 |
Lactate clearance Day1-23) | 34.7 (0.0, 61.9) | 35.3 (0.0, 53.9) | 0.51 |
Delta base excess Day1-24) | -3.8 (-8.2, -0.7) | -3.7 (-9.5, -0.9) | 0.97 |
Delta anion gap Day1-25) | -4 (-8, -3) | -4 (-8, 3) | 0.43 |
28 Days survival, n (%) | 125 (81.7) | 60 (77.9) | 0.61 |
Median (inter quartile range) |
P values were calculated using Pearson’s chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test. |
1) APACHE, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation |
2) Delta lactate was calculated by subtracting lactate level on day2 from day1 |
3) Lactate clearance was calculated by delta lactate divided by day1 value |
4) Delta base excess was calculated by subtracting base excess on day1 from day2 |
5) Delta anion gap was calculated by subtracting anion gap on day1 from day2 |
In the patients with TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL, non-survivors had significantly lower lactate clearance compared to survivors (P = 0.0035), while in those with TBIL < 2 mg/dL, there was a no significant difference in lactate clearance between survivors and non-survivors (P = 0.88) (Fig. 1A). Lactate clearance was not significantly correlated to TBIL (TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL group, P = 0.82; TBIL < 2 mg/dL group, P = 0.35, total, P = 0.80). There were no significant differences in delta base excess between non-survivors and survivors both in the patients with TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL (P = 0.74) and < 2 mg/dL (P = 0.64). No significant differences in delta anion gaps were observed between non-survivors and survivors in the patients with TBIL < 2 mg/dL (P = 0.70), while there is a non-significant trend of decreased delta anion gap in survivors compared to non-survivors TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL (P = 0.13) (Fig. 1B and 1C). Lactate clearance was significantly correlated to delta anion gap in the derivation cohort (all, R = 0.54, P < 0.0001; TBIL < 2 mg/dL, R = 0.56, P = 0.00017; TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL, R = 0.57, P < 0.0001) (Fig. 2).
In the primary analysis using a multivariate logistic regression analysis with adjustments of baseline imbalances, patients with increased lactate clearance had significantly decreased 28-day mortality in TBIL ≥ 2 mg/d group (10% lactate clearance, adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.88, 95%CI; 0.80–0.97, P = 0.0075); however, in TBIL < 2 mg/d group, lactate clearance was not significantly associated with altered 28-day mortality in the derivation cohort (10% lactate clearance, adjusted OR 0.99, 95%CI; 0.93–1.05, P = 0.69) (Table 3A). In accord with lactate clearance, patients with increased delta anion gap had significantly decreased 28-day mortality in TBIL ≥ 2 mg/d group (adjusted OR 1.09, 95%CI; 1.00-1.19, P = 0.045); however, in TBIL < 2 mg/d group, delta anion gap was not significantly associated with altered 28-day mortality (delta anion gap, adjusted OR 0.96, 95%CI; 0.83–1.11, P = 0.58) (Table 3B). Delta base excess was not significantly associated with altered 28-day mortality in the multivariate logistic regression analysis with the same adjustments of baseline imbalances (delta base excess, TBIL < 2 mg/dL, P = 0.65, TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL, P = 0.74).
We next tested for the significant findings of lactate clearance in TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL using the validation cohort (Table 2). In baseline characteristics, patients with TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL were younger and had an increased probability of chronic hepatic failure compared to TBIL < 2 mg/dL. In accord with the derivation cohort, non-survivors had significantly lower lactate clearance compared to survivors in the TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL group (P = 0.0006), while no significant difference in lactate clearance was observed in TBIL < 2 mg/dL (P = 0.46) (Fig. 3). Furthermore, patients with increased lactate clearance had significantly decreased 28-day mortality in the TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL group (10% lactate clearance, adjusted odds ratio 0.89, 95%CI; 0.83–0.96, P = 0.0038); however, in the TBIL < 2 mg/dL group, lactate clearance was not significantly associated with altered 28-day mortality in the validation cohort (Table 3C).
Table 2
Baseline characteristics, vital signs, blood gas analysis and laboratory data in the derivation cohort (VASST cohort, n = 396)
| TBIL < 2 mg/dL (n = 280) | TBIL ≥ 2 mg/dL (n = 116) | P value |
Age, yr | 65 (51, 74) | 57 (45, 66) | < 0.00001 |
Male sex, n (%) | 161 (57.5) | 63 (54.3) | 0.64 |
APACHE II score | 26 (22, 32) | 28 (23, 33) | 0.094 |
Comorbidity, n (%) | | | |
Chronic heart failure | 18 (6.4) | 10 (8.6) | 0.58 |
Chronic pulmonary disease | 52 (18.5) | 8 (6.9) | 0.0052 |
Chronic hepatic failure | 16 (5.7) | 36 (31.0) | < 0.00001 |
End stage renal failure | 34 (12.1) | 13 (11.2) | 0.93 |
Chronic steroid use | 62 (22.1) | 29 (25.0) | 0.63 |
Vital signs on Day1 | | | |
Body temperature, ℃ 1) | 38.6 (37.7, 39.3) | 38.4 (37.6, 39.2) | 0.37 |
Heart rate, beats/min 2) | 125 (108, 140) | 130 (118, 140) | 0.20 |
Mean arterial pressure, mmHg 3) | 54 (50, 60) | 55 (49, 61) | 0.61 |
Laboratory data on Day1 | | | |
WBC, *103/mm3 | 14.2 (9.2, 21.5) | 13.6 (7.5, 18.7) | 0.076 |
Platelet, *105/mm3 | 164 (92, 262) | 92 (45, 149) | < 0.00001 |
Total bilirubin, mg/dL | 0.8 (0.5, 1.3) | 3.8 (2.6, 6.8) | < 0.00001 |
Creatinine, mg/dL | 1.70 (1.06, 2.91) | 2.18 (1.36, 3.31) | 0.030 |
Lactate level on Day1, mmol/L | 2.2 (1.3, 3.8) | 3.5 (1.9, 6.5) | < 0.00001 |
Lactate level on Day2, mmol/L | 1.9 (1.3, 3.0) | 3.2 (1.8, 5.6) | < 0.00001 |
Delta lactate Day1-2, mmol/L | 0.1 (-0.5, 0.7) | 0.2 (-0.8, 1.4) | 0.56 |
Lactate clearance Day1-2 | 0.8 (-28.6, 29.7) | 6.2 (-27.1, 33.0) | 0.62 |
28 Days survival, n (%) | 184 (65.7) | 69 (59.4) | 0.29 |
Median (inter quartile range) |
P values were calculated using Pearson’s chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test. |
1) Most abnormal degree on Day1 |
2) Highest rate on Day1 |
3) Lowest pressure on Day1 |
Table 3. Multivariate logistic regression analysis for 28 days mortality
A. Derivation cohort, lactate clearance
|
TBIL<2mg/dL
|
TBIL≥2mg/dL
|
|
Odd ratio (95%CI)
|
P value
|
Odd ratio (95%CI)
|
P value
|
Age -per year
|
0.98 (0.95-1.01)
|
0.17
|
1.03 (0.95-1.11)
|
0.45
|
Male sex
|
0.78 (0.31-1.91)
|
0.58
|
1.26 (0.30-5.22)
|
0.76
|
APACHE II score
|
1.13 (1.06-1.22)
|
0.00043
|
1.03 (0.95-1.11)
|
0.45
|
Lactate clearance -per 10%
|
0.99 (0.93-1.05)
|
0.69
|
0.88 (0.80-0.97)
|
0.0075
|
B. Derivation cohort, delta anion gap
|
TBIL<2mg/dL
|
TBIL≥2mg/dL
|
|
Odd ratio (95%CI)
|
P value
|
Odd ratio (95%CI)
|
P value
|
Age -per year
|
0.97 (0.90-1.04)
|
0.38
|
1.05 (0.99-1.12)
|
0.13
|
Male sex
|
0.32 (0.037-2.75)
|
0.30
|
2.15 (0.41-11.2)
|
0.37
|
APACHE II score
|
1.11 (0.96-1.28)
|
0.15
|
1.11 (1.00-1.24)
|
0.05
|
Delta anion gap
|
0.96 (0.83-1.11)
|
0.58
|
1.09 (1.00-1.19)
|
0.045
|
C. Validation cohort
|
TBIL<2mg/dL
|
TBIL≥2mg/dL
|
|
Odd ratio (95%CI)
|
P value
|
Odd ratio (95%CI)
|
P value
|
Age -per year
|
1.01 (0.99-1.02)
|
0.57
|
1.02 (0.99-1.05)
|
0.12
|
Male sex
|
0.97 (0.57-1.65)
|
0.91
|
1.03 (0.44-2.38)
|
0.95
|
APACHE II score
|
1.12 (1.08-1.17)
|
<0.0001
|
1.09 (1.03-1.16)
|
0.0043
|
Lactate clearance -per 10%
|
1.01 (0.99-1.03)
|
0.48
|
0.89 (0.83-0.96)
|
0.0038
|
APACHE, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation