Research Article: Time-dependent responses of brain injury biomarkers after severe cerebral desaturation in paediatric patients during cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass: a single-centre observational cohort study
Abstract:
Neurological injury remains an important concern in paediatric patients after congenital heart disease (CHD) surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rScO 2 ) can be used to identify unstable intraoperative cerebral oxygenation, but its association with the postoperative responses of brain injury biomarkers remains unclear.
This single-centre observational cohort study included 104 children who underwent congenital heart surgery with CPB. The maximum intraoperative decrease in rScO 2 was calculated as the preoperative value minus the lowest value recorded during bypass, during aortic cross-clamping, or after the return of spontaneous circulation. Severe cerebral desaturation was defined as a decrease of at least 20%. The levels of inflammatory cytokines and biomarkers of brain injury were measured preoperatively and on postoperative Days 0 (POD0), POD1, and POD2. Postoperative changes were calculated as log 2 fold changes from baseline and z-standardized. The composite inflammation score derived from tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-?), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1?), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels, and the composite brain injury score derived from glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B), and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) levels were averaged to derive the composite brain injury score. Adjusted associations were evaluated using multivariable linear regression models, linear mixed-effects models (LMMs), and generalized estimating equations (GEEs), with the non-severe group serving as the reference category.
Children in the severe group were younger than those in the non-severe group, but most of the perioperative characteristics were similar. Severe desaturation was not associated with the composite inflammation score. In contrast, severe desaturation was independently associated with a higher postoperative composite brain injury score in both the LMM and the GEEs. The strongest difference between the severe and non-severe groups occurred on POD1 and remained significant after false discovery rate correction. Single-marker analyses showed directionally positive postoperative responses for GFAP, S100B, and NSE.
A maximum intraoperative decrease in rScO 2 of at least 20% was associated with postoperative responses of brain injury biomarkers in children who underwent congenital heart surgery with CPB. The association was most evident on POD1 and attenuated by POD2.
Introduction:
Neurological injury remains an important concern in paediatric patients after congenital heart disease (CHD) surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rScO 2 ) can be used to identify unstable intraoperative cerebral oxygenation, but its association with the postoperative responses of brain injury biomarkers remains unclear.
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