Recurrent ‘Lactic’ Acidosis-a Cautionary Tale

Lactic acidosis can be caused by a variety of pathological conditions. We present a case of recurrent ‘lactic’ acidosis, which was eventually diagnosed to be secondary to ethylene glycol poisoning. Though there are a handful of cases reported in the literature, it is not widely known that glycolic acid (a metabolite of ethylene glycol) is measured spuriously as lactic acid by some point of care analysers. Literature review would indicate that this is a rare but potentially confounding factor in diagnosis. Given the nature of the pathology, we would suggest that greater awareness of the problem is important.