In patients with hyperlactatemia on ICU admission, lactate-guided therapy significantly reduced hospital mortality when adjusting for predefined risk factors. As this was consistent with important secondary endpoints, this study suggests that initial lactate monitoring has clinical benefit. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00270673).

A 42-year old man attended our emergency department with sudden onset of nausea, fever and cold sweats. In the days prior to presentation, he had developed a radiating pain in the thoracic spine. Furthermore, he had been suffering from dyspnoea on exertion for several weeks. He was a smoker, but had no significant past medical history.

Although transfusion-related acute lung injury is usually self-limiting and most patients will recover spontaneously, the estimated mortality rate of 5-25% warrants prompt identification and adequate action.

The patient underwent transthoracic echocardiography which confirmed the presence of a calcified intracardiac mass in the right atrium, with significant tricuspid insufficiency and compression of the left atrium (Figure 2). CT angiography of the thorax revealed the tumour was 7.2×5.3×4.4 cm. Initially, no pulmonary vascular abnormalities were seen.