Lactic acidosis - what is it? You can find out the answer to the question from the materials in this article. In addition, you will be presented with information about what are the symptoms of this deviation, the causes of its occurrence and existing methods of control.
General information about the disease
So, the topic of our conversation is lactic acidosis. What is it and how to treat it? This is a deviation in which hyperlactacidemic coma is provoked. This complication is especially relevant for patients with diabetes mellitus. After all, the accumulation of lactic acid in the body (in the skin, brain, skeletal muscle, etc.) can subsequently provoke the development of metabolic acidosis. Before you understand how to avoid such a complication, you should consider the most likely causes of its occurrence.
The main causes
Lactic acidosis (the symptoms and treatment of this disease will be discussed below) may occur due to pathological conditions such as:
- infectious and inflammatory diseases;
- severe physical injuries;
- renal failure;
- chronic alcoholism;
- acute myocardial infarction;
- massive bleeding;
- liver disease.
Among other things, among the factors that cause lactic acidosis, a special place is taken by biguanides. So, sugar-lowering drugs, even in minimal doses, can easily provoke this complication, especially with liver or kidney damage. It should also be noted that the pathology under consideration often occurs with skeletal muscle hypoxia, which develops due to prolonged physical exertion. In addition, the cause of this disease in some cases is leukemia and a number of other tumor processes. This also includes respiratory failure and a deficiency of thiamine in the body.
Lactic acidosis: symptoms of the disease
Pathology develops rapidly and covers the whole body in just a few hours. It should be especially noted that before the onset of the acute course of the disease, the patient usually does not have any symptoms. Although there are some signs by which it can be understood that there is an excess of lactic acid in the blood . These signs include:
- muscle pain
- apathy;
- pain behind the sternum;
- rapid breathing;
- insomnia or, conversely, drowsiness.
In addition, the main symptom of this pathological condition can be called cardiovascular failure. After all, it is this disease that is complicated due to increased acidity.
Signs of lactic acidosis appear more intensely with the course of the disease. In this case, the patient may feel a feeling of nausea. After some time, vomiting is observed in patients, to which severe abdominal pains gradually join. In the event that at this stage the person does not receive help, his condition worsens significantly. In such a situation, the patient ceases to perceive reality. He begins to respond very slowly to the actions of the people around him. Sometimes the patient has involuntary contractions of various muscles, as a result of which cramps appear, then the patient's motor ability is noticeably weakened.
A harbinger of hyperlactacidemic coma is intermittent breathing. In this case, no extraneous odors are observed (for example, as with ketoacidosis). After which a person simply loses consciousness.
Diagnostics
We dealt with the question posed at the beginning of the article: "Lactic acidosis - what is it?", Examined the signs of this deviation. Now we need to talk about how to act in such a situation. If your loved one showed at least a few of the above symptoms, then you should immediately call a doctor. It is far from the fact that the patient has precisely lactic acidosis. After all, such signs may indicate other whitening. To make the correct diagnosis, a general blood test is necessary. If it contains an increased content of lactic acid, as well as lower rates of bicarbonates and reserve alkalinity, then it makes sense to talk about lactic acidosis.
Lactic acidosis: treatment of the disease
With such a disease, therapy should be aimed at the rapid elimination of hypoxia and acidosis. Emergency care involves the intravenous (drip) solution of sodium bicarbonate (4 or 2.5%) up to two liters per day. In this case, doctors should keep under tight control pH and potassium levels in the blood. In addition, mandatory for lactic acidosis is intensive insulin therapy or monocomponent insulin therapy. As additional drugs, doctors use intravenous carboxylases (drip) in an amount of 200 mg per day. The introduction of rheopolyglucin, blood plasma, as well as small doses of heparin, which contribute to the correction of hemostasis, is also relevant.
Disease prevention
Well, the answer to the question: "Lactic acidosis - what is it?" you know. And how to prevent such troubles? Preventive measures that prevent the onset of hyperlactacidemic coma are the prevention of hypoxia and control of diabetes compensation. Lactic acidosis resulting from the use of biguanides requires special rigor in the individual determination of the doses of the drug.
Most often, this disease is found in those patients who were not aware of their diabetes, as a result of the disease proceeded without the necessary treatment. To prevent the appearance of lactic acidosis, all prescriptions of the attending physician should be strictly observed. It is also necessary to monitor the dynamics of the disease, regularly undergo a full medical examination, take all tests and take proper therapy. In case of any suspicion of lactic acidosis, you should contact an endocrinologist without any delay. Only in this way you can avoid the negative consequences and get rid of the unpleasant symptoms that accompany this disease.