Metformin Use Before Intensive Care Admission With Lactic Acidosis in Type 2 Diabetes
Looks at survival in intensive care patients with lactic acidosis, by prior metformin use.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Lactic Acidosis and Prior Metformin Treatment
Key facts
- Where
- Strasbourg, FranceSee the site
Where in France
- Service de Médecine Intensive - Réanimation - CHU de Strasbourg - FranceStrasbourg, FranceTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- University Hospital, Strasbourg, France
- Trial code
- NCT07300293
- Record updated
- 23 December 2025
- Original description
Metformin is a drug frequently prescribed to patients with type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, diabetes can lead to micro- and macrovascular complications that may cause chronic organ failure. The presence of diabetes also increases the risk of infections. All of these factors contribute to the frequent admission of patients to the ICU who have been receiving metformin treatment in the preceding days. Acute renal failure, which is also frequently observed upon admission to the ICU, increases the risk of metformin overdose. In cases of overdose, metformin acts on several metabolic pathways that can lead to or even accelerate metabolic acidosis, sometimes severe. However, the impact on prognosis is controversial.Read full original descriptionShow less
Prognosis of Lactic Acidosis Upon Admission to Intensive Care According to the Existence of Prior Treatment With Metformin
Metformin is a drug frequently prescribed to patients with type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, diabetes can lead to micro- and macrovascular complications that may cause chronic organ failure. The presence of diabetes also increases the risk of infections. All of these factors contribute to the frequent admission of patients to the ICU who have been receiving metformin treatment in the preceding days. Acute renal failure, which is also frequently observed upon admission to the ICU, increases the risk of metformin overdose. In cases of overdose, metformin acts on several metabolic pathways that can lead to or even accelerate metabolic acidosis, sometimes severe. However, the impact on prognosis is controversial.
The role of metformin in lactic acidosis in patients treated for acute illness may be underestimated in routine practice.
This study aims to investigate the impact of prior metformin treatment on ICU survival in patients admitted to the ICU with severe lactic acidosis.
Inclusion: Adult patient (≥18 years); Admitted to the intensive care unit of Hautepierre Hospital - Strasbourg University Hospital between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2023; Having experienced lactic acidosis (pH <7.35 and lactate level ≥5 mmol/L) within the first 24 hours of hospitalization.
Exclusion: for whom a limitation of active therapies was implemented before or during the first 24 hours of hospitalization; Patient without arterial blood gas measurements during the first 24 hours of admission; whose background treatment is unknown and could not be determined.