Modifiable Factors During Cardiopulmonary Bypass in Children and Neonates: What Predicts Early-Onset Neurocomplications After Cardiac Surgery?

Background: Despite the great progress in the surgery of complex congenital heart diseases, there is still concern regarding adverse neurological events. We aimed to determine the pre- and on-pump modifiable factors that could predict the neurocomplications after pediatric cardiac surgery. Methods: In a prospective study, modifiable factors such as arterial blood gas, serum lactate, serum glucose, mean arterial pressure, and nasopharyngeal temperature were measured before and during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Moreover, the CPB time, the aortic cross-clamp time, and the deep hypothermic circulatory arrest time were recorded. If there were adverse neurological complications, brain computed tomography scan was done. Results: From 435 patients with congenital heart diseases that underwent cardiac surgery, 364 patients at a mean age of 22 months were enrolled in the study. Thirty-three (9%) patients had adverse early-onset neurological events. Seizure and hemorrhage were the most common clinical and neuroimaging findings, respectively. Although the pre-pump oxygen saturation (P = 0.03), the blood CO2 level (P = 0.04), and the serum glucose level (P = 0.03) showed statistical significance in the univariate analysis, the only predictive variables of neurocomplications in the multivariate analysis of logistic regression were the on-pump serum glucose level (P = 0.001) and the nasopharyngeal temperature (P = 0.004). Conclusions: Among several modifiable factors exerting an influence on the neurological outcome of children undergoing cardiac surgery, special attention should be paid to the control of the intraoperative serum glucose level and the provision of the optimal cooling temperature.