Is lactate lower in septic patients who are prescribed beta blockers? Retrospective cohort study of an intensive care population.

Objective: Elevated serum lactate has long been considered an important marker of sepsis severity. Increasing evidence supports catecholamine-stimulated aerobic glycolysis being a major contributor to the hyperlactataemia seen in sepsis. Beta-blockade may blunt such catecholamine mediated rise in lactate analogous to the way it can mask tachycardia.