• Fabio Daniel Masevicius and Paolo Nahuel Rubatto Birri.
• Servicio de Terapia Intensiva, Sanatorio de la Trinidad Ramos Mejía, Ramos Mejía, Argentina.
• Crit. Care Med. 2017 Dec 1; 45 (12): e1233-e1239.

ObjectivesTo investigate the association between the concentration of the causative anions responsible for the main types of metabolic acidosis and the outcome.DesignProspective observational study.SettingTeaching ICU.PatientsAll patients admitted from January 2006 to December 2014.InterventionsNone.Measurements And Main ResultsFour thousand nine hundred one patients were admitted throughout the study period; 1,609 met criteria for metabolic acidosis and 145 had normal acid-base values. The association between at admission lactate, unmeasured anions, and chloride concentration with outcome was assessed by multivariate analysis in the whole cohort and in patients with metabolic acidosis. We also compared the mortality of patients with lactic, unmeasured anions, and hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis with that of patients without acid-base disorders. In the whole population, increased lactate and unmeasured anions were independently associated with increased mortality, even after adjusting for potential confounders (odds ratio [95% CI], 1.14 (1.08-1.20); p < 0.0001 and 1.04 (1.02-1.06); p < 0.0001, respectively). In patients with metabolic acidosis, the results were similar. Patients with lactic and unmeasured anions acidosis, but not those with hyperchloremic acidosis, had an increased mortality compared to patients without alterations (17.7%, 12.7%, 4.9%, and 5.8%, respectively; p < 0.05).ConclusionsIn this large cohort of critically ill patients, increased concentrations of lactate and unmeasured anions, but not chloride, were associated with increased mortality. In addition, increased unmeasured anions were the leading cause of metabolic acidosis.

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