Preoperative Anemia and Outcomes After Corrective Surgery in Neonates With Dextro-Transposition of the Great Arteries

Objectives

The authors aimed to assess whether untreated preoperative anemia was associated with increased risk for adverse outcomes after the arterial switch operation in neonates with dextro-transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA).

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Single cardiac surgery center.

Participants

Eighty-two newborns with d-TGA.

Interventions

The authors categorized the cohort into the following two groups: the infants with preoperative anemia group (defined as a hematocrit <0.40 L/L) and the control group.

Measurements and Main Results

Preoperative anemia was diagnosed in 21 (25.6%) infants. Anemic infants received intraoperative red blood cell transfusions significantly more often than controls (81.0% v 34.4%, p < 0.001). No differences were observed in the incidence of adverse events, duration of hospitalization (median 27 days v 26 days, p = 0.881), and mortality (0% v 4.9%, p = 0.566). Postnatal hematocrit was the only variable independently associated with preoperative anemia in multivariate logistic regression analysis (unit odds ratio, 0.832; 95% confidence interval, 0.743-0.931; p = 0.001).

Conclusions

Untreated preoperative anemia was not associated with adverse outcomes in neonates undergoing reparative surgery for d-TGA.