Rapid bedside estimation of plasma and whole blood lactic acid.

A rapid method for the bedside measurement of plasma, intracellular and whole blood lactates is described. The paper described a new method of measuring the L-lactate content of blood using an apparatus ("Lactate Analyzer 640", manufactured by Roche Bio-electronics, Basel) previously designed for this purpose but using aqueous solutions. A novel feature of this new method is the facility to use small blood samples (100-150 mul). We therefore believe that it will become an invaluable tool in obstetrics and neonatology.