Fifteen (20%) neonates died before neonatal intensive care unit discharge (early deaths), with seven additional deaths before follow-up, which are included in the adverse survivors group. Among 49 early childhood survivors (22 +/- 7 months), 27 were disabled or delayed with Mental and Performance Developmental Indices of 70 +/- 21 and 72 +/- 22, respectively. Early deaths had higher plasma lactate levels and were more acidemic than adverse and normal survivors, who were not different from each other (p <.05). Plasma lactate and the lowest arterial pH independently predicted 42% of the variance of the outcome ( p<.001). A peak lactate level of >or=25 mM predicted early mortality (sensitivity, 47%; specificity, 100%; positive and negative predictive values, 100% and 88%, respectively; p<.001), whereas a level of >or=15 mM predicted adverse outcome (sensitivity, 35%; specificity, 91%; positive and negative predictive values, 89% and 38%, respectively; p<.05). The predictability of plasma lactate was significantly improved in 45 neonates without congenital diaphragmatic hernia or lethal anomalies (sensitivity of 100% for early mortality, negative predictive value of 63% for adverse outcome). CONCLUSIONS In addition to assessing tissue oxygenation, plasma lactate may facilitate the decision-making process by providing early predictive information about the outcome of neonates treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

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