Blood Testing
Blood tests for lactate are performed to determine the status of the acid base homeostasis in the body. Blood sampling for this purpose is often by arterial blood sampling (even if it is more difficult than venipuncture), because lactate differs substantially between arterial and venous levels, and the arterial level is more representative for this purpose.
| Lower limit | Upper limit | Unit | |
| Venous | 4.5 | 19.8 | mg/dL |
| 0.5 | 2.2 | mmol/L | |
| Arterial | 4.5 | 14.4 | mg/dL |
| 0.5 | 1.6 | mmol/L |
During childbirth, lactate levels in the fetus can be quantified by fetal scalp blood testing.
Read more about this topic: Lactic Acid
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