Serum anion gap versus lactate clearance as mortality predictors in critically ill children

Introduction: Mortality prediction is important for optimal resource allocation in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Objectives: To estimate the predictive value of serum corrected anion gap (cAG) and lactate clearance for predicting mortality in PICU. Method: We conducted a prospective study of children admitted to the PICU of a tertiary hospital. PRISM III and IV score, cAG and lactate clearance were done in all patients, and the predictive value was calculated for mortality. Results: The mortality in the study group was 12%. The cAG was significantly lower in survivors than in non-survivors (p