Skip to main content

Volume 3 Supplement 1

ESICM LIVES 2015

  • Poster presentation
  • Open access
  • Published:

Continuous veno-venous hemofiltration in patients with metformin associated lactic acidosis

Introduction

Metformin is frequently used by type II diabetics. A rare complication of its use is metformin associated lactic acidosis (MALA). This condition is often accompanied by extreme metabolic acidosis and hemodynamic instability for which ICU treatment is mandatory. Guidelines advice intermittent hemodialysis for correction of metabolic acidosis and to clear metformin. However, haemodynamic instability may prefer continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH). We evaluated the effect of CVVH in critically ill patients admitted with MALA.

Methods

We performed a retrospective single centre cohort study in a 20-bed mixed ICU. All consecutive patients admitted with clinical diagnosis of metformin intoxication between January 2010 and December 2014 were included. Data were extracted from the local Patient Data Management System and analysed with SPSS 21.0. Data are presented as median and IQR or mean ± SD.

Results

10 patients were identified. 80% were male, median age was 68 years (IQR 65-77). Apache II was 30.5 (IQR 27-34), corresponding with a predicted mortality of 65% (IQR 39-83). The first measured serum metformin level (N = 6) was 32 (IQR 14-50). Nine cases were due to chronic accumulation of metformin and one was an acute intoxication. Metformin accumulation could be explained by renal impairment caused by dehydration (N = 4), infection (N = 3) or medication (N = 2). Mean pH at admission was 7.08 (SD ± 0.136), highest measured lactate was 13.95 mmol/l (IQR 10-21). Continuous veno-venous hemofiltration was initiated in 8 out of 10 patients, the other 2 patients had a pH above 7.20. CVVH was administered in high volume post-dilution mode with citrate anticoagulation. Dosage of CVVH was 54.89 ml/kg/hour (IQR 50.8-61.1). Time to normalisation of pH was 557.5 minutes (IQR 285-840), median duration of CVVH was 35.67 hours (IQR 17-75.33). In three patients the serum level was repeatedly measured and showed a decline. A mean arterial pressure of 60 mmHg was achieved with a maximum concentration of 0.08 mcg/kg/min norepinephrine (IQR 0-0.29) and 5.6 mcg/kg/min dopamine (IQR 2.2-9.8). The two oldest patients died, one because of termination of renal replacement therapy in end-stage kidney disease due to tubulointerstitial nephritis (79 years), the second because of refractory septic shock (85 years).

Conclusions

CVVH was effective in restoring acid base disorders and haemodynamics in patients with MALA and hypotension. It appears to be a safe alternative to intermittent hemodialysis.

References

  1. Kajbaf F, Lalau JD: Mortality rate in so-called "metformin-associated lactic acidosis": a review of the data since the 1960s. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2014, 23 (11): 1123-1127. 10.1002/pds.3689.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Keller G, Cour M, Hernu R, Illinger J, Robert D, Argaud L: Management of metformin-associated lactic acidosis by continuous renal replacement therapy. PLoS One. 2011, 6 (8): e23200.

  3. Nguyen HL, Concepcion L: Metformin intoxication requiring dialysis. Hemodial Int. 2011, 15 (Suppl 1): 68-71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bethlehem, C., van der Voort, P. Continuous veno-venous hemofiltration in patients with metformin associated lactic acidosis. ICMx 3 (Suppl 1), A464 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/2197-425X-3-S1-A464

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/2197-425X-3-S1-A464

Keywords