The phrase "a base deficit" is correct and usable in written English.
It is typically used in medical or physiological contexts to refer to a condition where there is a deficiency of base in the blood, indicating metabolic acidosis.
Example: "The patient's lab results showed a significant base deficit, suggesting an underlying metabolic disturbance."
Alternatives: "a bicarbonate deficit" or "a metabolic acidosis".
Much emphasis is placed on the metabolic component of umbilical cord acidemia at birth, with an importance attached to an arterial level of <7.00 accompanied by a base deficit of 12 mmol/L.
Postnatal low pH-values (pH < 7.1) and a base deficit of more than −16 mmol/L in the umbilical artery, low Apgar scores and thrombocytopenia are associated with a neonatal intracerebral hemorrhage and prophylaxis with corticosteroids reduces the risk for it.
The occurrences of umbilical arterial pH of <7.20, a 1-minute Apgar score of <7, a base deficit of 12 mmol/L or higher, and operative deliveries were significantly higher in the study group as compared with subjects with normal fetal heart rate monitoring.
The proportion of CPC 1 patients among ICU survivors was similar across base deficit quartiles (72.8, 67.1, 70.5 and 62.5%, p = 0.21), and 7.3% of patients with a base deficit higher than 13.2 mEq/l survived to ICU discharge with complete neurological recovery.
No patient survived with a base deficit higher than 25 mmol/l, a pH lower than 6.72, a blood bicarbonate level lower than 8.6 mmol/l or an admission arterial blood lactate level higher than 20 mmol/l (Additional file 3: Table S2).
The proportion of CPC 1 patients among ICU survivors was similar across base deficit quartiles (72.8, 67.1, 70.5 and 62.5%, p = 0.21) and 11.7% of patients with a base deficit higher than 13.2 mEq l survived to ICU discharge with a good neurological recovery.
Mutschler and colleagues' paper reflects several of these earlier findings but also appears to be the first study to define and validate a base-deficit-oriented classification system.
It has been suggested that the underlying cause for the hyperlactatemia, specifically the nature of the acid-base disturbance and whether a base-deficit exists may influence the predictive ability of lactate measurements [ 23].
During the interval from 7 to 72 hours, the patients assigned to EGDT had a significantly higher mean ScvO2, a lower lactate concentration, a lower base deficit and a higher pH than did the patients assigned to standard therapy (P < 0.02 or P = 0.02 for all comparisons).
Elderly patients (age 61 to 90 years) with a high Injury Severity Score also seemed to benefit from a PAC with a moderate base deficit (-6 to -10).
In this study, 4 predictors were independently associated with an increased risk of death: acidosis indicated by a large base deficit, cerebral manifestations of malaria (coma and/or convulsions), an elevated blood urea nitrogen, or signs of chronic illness on admission.
