Intravenous administration of a polyionic solution containing 84 mEq/l of lactate resolves experimentally induced hyperchloraemic acidosis in horses.

The research article explores the successful use of a solution with high lactate content to efficiently treat experimentally induced metabolic acidosis in horses.

Objective and Treatment Method

• The main objective of this study was to determine the safety and effectiveness of a polyionic solution that contains 84 mEq/l of lactate (L84) in correcting induced hyperchloraemic metabolic acidosis. The alternative treatment of metabolic acidosis was usually addressed using sodium bicarbonate solutions which proved to be safe when blood gas analysis was available.
• The beyond standard metabolic acidosis was induced in five adult, crossbred horses through the intravenous infusion of a solution containing 100 mmol/l of HCl for five hours.
• This process was repeated twice with at least a 15-day recuperation period in between. In the first instance, the horses were not administered any treatment. However, in the second instance, the horses were intravenously given the L84 solution for 5 hours, starting 3 hours after the HCl infusion had ended.

Data Collection and Analysis

• Data was collected at regular intervals by drawing venous blood samples and collecting urine samples.
• The research team recorded essential lab data including pH levels of the blood and urine, PCO, HCO, base excess, total plasma protein concentration, l-lactate, Na, K, Cl, strong ion difference (SID), anion gap, change in plasma volume, and fractional excretions of Na, K, and Cl.
• The influence of time and treatment was verified by conducting a 2-way repeated measures ANOVA.

Results and Conclusion

• The results showed that severe hyperchloraemic metabolic acidosis was induced in the horses. In the horses that were left untreated, the correction of the imbalance occurred gradually and mild acidosis was still present even after 48 hours.
• However, in the case of horses treated with the L84 solution, the acidosis was corrected by the end of the infusion. No adverse effects were noticed on administrating the L84 solution.
• On the basis of these observations, it was concluded that the use of a polyionic solution containing 84 mEq/l of lactate effectively corrected the metabolic acidosis induced in horses within 5 hours.