Serum Lactate – An indicator of morbidity & mortality in Polytrauma patients

Abstract: Trauma is a major worldwide cause of death and disability that mainly affects young adults and the elderly population. The definition of multiple traumas varies among surgeons from different specialties and between different centers and countries. Hence the need for comparative analysis of injury, management & outcome related parameters has stimulated the development of many trauma scoring systems. These scoring systems represent a means of quantifying the injuries along with comorbidities, age and mode of injury. They
are based on converting many independent factors into one-dimensional numeric value that ideally represents the criticality of the illness. An ideal scoring system should take into account the severity of anatomic trauma, level of physiologic response & inherent patient reserves. Aim of the study is to study the significance of blood parameters at the time of admission in predicting the morbidity & mortality of multiply injured patients mainly to understand the significance of blood lactate and lactate clearance in polytrauma and compound injury
patients and its roll in predicting timing of definitive and reconstructive procedures in polytrauma and compound fractures.