National Early Warning Score Lactate (NEWS–L): is it good news for pre-hospital care?

Jack Barrett
Sunday, October 2, 2016

It is recognised that elevated blood lactate levels increase the risk of mortality, even in those patients who appear physiologically stable (Vincent et al, 2016). The National Early Warning Score (NEWS) was introduced in the United Kingdom (UK) as a risk management tool in the Emergency Department (ED). Based on easy to establish physiological data, ED staff are better able to appropriately triage patients. Blood lactate has become a vital measure of the body's physiological response to an insult or injury. The authors of this study were assessing whether adding a serum lactate reading (NEWS–L) to the NEWS assessment could improve the triage of patients in the ED.

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