Metformin is recommended as the first-line agent for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Although this drug has a generally good safety profile, rare but potentially serious adverse effects may occur. Metformin-associated lactic acidosis, although very uncommon, carries a significant risk of mortality. The relationship between metformin accumulation and lactic acidosis is complex and is affected ...

Oxidative phosphorylation of isolated rat skeletal muscle mitochondria after exposure to lactic acidosis in either phosphorylating or nonphosphorylating states has been evaluated. Mitochondrial respiration and transmembrane potential (ΔΨm) were measured with pyruvate and malate as the substrates. The addition of lactic acid decreased the pH of the reaction medium from 7.5 to 6.4. When lactic ac...

INTRODUCTION Although magnesium plays an important role in aerobic metabolism and magnesium deficiency is a common phenomenon in critical illness, the association between magnesium deficiency and lactic acidosis in the intensive care unit (ICU) has not been defined. METHODS This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study conducted at a 77 ICU bed tertiary medical center. Data pertaining to th...

AIMS Metformin is renally excreted and has been associated with the development of lactic acidosis. Although current advice is to omit metformin during illnesses that may increase the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI), the evidence supporting this is lacking. We investigated the relationship between AKI, lactate concentrations and the risk of lactic acidosis in those exposed to metformin. MAT...

M etformin is the only biguanide that is available in the U.S. Another biguanide, phenformin, had been used since the 1950s, but was declared an “imminent hazard” in 1976 because of lactic acidosis (1). At the time of its removal from the market, there had been 306 documented cases of phenformin-associated lactic acidosis (2), including 1 fatal and 2 nonfatal cases in the randomized controlled ...

A 55 year old diabetic women treated with chlorpropamide and metformin for three years presented with acute oliguric renal failure and lactic acidosis from which she died. The plasma metformin level was very high suggesting that the lactic acidosis was caused by the drug. There were no contraindications to metformin therapy and renal function was normal three months previously. This case demons...

We report the case of a 46-yr-old male who developed severe lactic acidosis, cardiorespiratory arrest, and rhabdomyolysis following an overdose of metformin and ramipril. The lactic acidosis was successfully treated with early high-volume continuous veno-venous haemofiltration. Rhabdomyolysis and lower limb compartment syndrome developed later. The patient otherwise made a good recovery. We dis...

Exposure to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may lead to adverse effects related to mitochondrial toxicity such as lactic acidosis. We describe two cases of severe lactic acidosis in HIV-positive patients to illustrate the clinical symptoms and abnormal laboratory results associated with this condition. There is a lack of awareness about the risk factors for developing severe lactic...

The short bowel syndrome appears for the reduction of intestinal absorptive surface due to functional or anatomical loss of part of the small bowel. We present the case of a 35-year-old woman with severe short bowel syndrome secondary to acute intestinal ischemia in adults, who presented at 5 years of evolution episodes of dizziness with gait instability and loss of strength in hands. The diagn...

Lactic acidosis is a form of metabolic acidosis due to the inadequate clearance of lactic acid from the blood. Lactate is a byproduct of anaerobic respiration and is normally cleared from the blood by the liver, kidney and skeletal muscle. Lactic acidosis occurs when the body's buffering systems are overloaded and tends to cause a pH of ≤7.25 with plasma lactate ≥5 mmol/L. It is usually caused ...