Oh TK, et al. - By performing this retrospective cohort analysis in ICUs in single tertiary academic hospital, researchers examined the link between perioperative lactate level and 90-day mortality in patients admitted to the surgical ICU. This study included 9,248 patients. Evaluation of hazard ratios of 90-day mortality was done based on the following serum lactate levels: preoperative lactate concentration; peak lactate concentrations on postoperative day (POD) 0 to 3; and delta values of the lactate level on POD 0 to 3 from preoperative lactate level. They also used multivariable Cox regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses. Findings revealed increased 90-day mortality in relation to higher perioperative lactate levels in patients admitted postoperatively to the ICU. The most significant contribution to this link was shown by the peak level of lactate during POD 0 to 3.