ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2016 September;175(9):378-83

Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Comparison of the Lactate Pro, Lactate Pro 2 and i-STAT blood lactate analyzers

Grant S. ROWE, Douglas G. WHYTE

School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the accuracy of blood lactate measurements using the Lactate Pro (LP), Lactate Pro 2 (LP2) portable lactate analyzers and i-STAT point-of-care device.
METHODS: Blood samples (N.=284) were taken from 28 subjects during a variety of exercise modes: incremental cycling test, team-sport running simulation or resistance training. Weighted least products regression analysis was used to compare the LP to LP2 and LP2 to i-STAT.
RESULTS: Lactate concentrations ranged between 0.4-18.2 mM. There was a strong linear relationship observed between the LP and LP2 analyzers (r=0.976, P<0.01), although a small proportional bias was apparent. A strong linear relationship was also found between the LP2 and i-STAT analyzers; however, both a fixed and proportional bias were revealed. The i-STAT reported higher absolute lactate concentrations (mean ± SD, 1.4±1.3 mM, P<0.001) which became more marked at moderate to high concentrations (>4 mM; 2.2±1.0 mM, P<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: While strong linear relationships existed between all three analyzers, the LP and LP2 reported substantially lower lactate values compared with the i-STAT, especially at higher lactate concentrations. These results further highlight the need for caution when interpreting or comparing lactate data obtained using different analyzers.