title: Association of Hematocrit and Red Blood Cell Transfusion with Outcomes in Infants Undergoing Norwood Operation.
abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the association between red blood cell (RBC) transfusion and hematocrit values with outcomes in infants undergoing Norwood operation. This study included infants ≤2 months of age who underwent Norwood operation with either a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt or a right ventricle-pulmonary artery shunt. Demographics, preoperative, operative, daily laboratory data, and postoperative variables were collected. The primary outcome measures evaluated included mortality, ICU length of stay, length of mechanical ventilation, and days to chest closure. The secondary outcome measures evaluated included lactate levels, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and inotrope score in the first 14 days after heart operation. Cox proportional hazard models were fitted to study the probability of study outcomes as a function of hematocrit values and RBC transfusions after operation. Eighty-nine patients qualified for inclusion. With a median hematocrit of 46 (IQR 44, 49), and a median RBC transfusion of 92 ml/kg (IQR 31, 384) in the first 14 days after operation, 81 (91 %) patients received RBC transfusions. A multivariable analysis adjusted for risk factors, including the age, weight, prematurity, cardiopulmonary bypass and cross-clamp time, and postoperative need for nitric oxide and dialysis, demonstrated no association between hematocrit and RBC transfusion with majority of study outcomes. This single-center study found that higher hematocrit values and increasing RBC transfusions are not associated with improved outcomes in infants undergoing Norwood operation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Cardiology, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA, pgupta2@uams.edu.
authors.forename: Punkaj
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Caitlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Lisle
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Benjamin
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goodhart
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gossett
authors.forename: Gina A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Pesek
authors.forename: Rahul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: DasGupta
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D058366:Blalock-Taussig Procedure / Q000379:methods*; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005919:Glomerular Filtration Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006400:Hematocrit / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000097:blood; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D058327:Norwood Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D011184:Postoperative Period; D057234:Preoperative Period; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000601:surgery*; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D019344:Lactic Acid