Perioperative blood glucose level and postoperative complications in pediatric cardiac surgery.

Background: Anesthesia for pediatric cardiac surgery is systematically performed in severely ill patients under abnormal physiological conditions. In the intraoperative period, there are significant variations in blood volume, body temperature, plasma composition, and tissue blood flow, in addition to activation of inflammation, with important consequences. Serial measurements of blood glucose levels can indicate states of exacerbation of the neuroendocrine-metabolic response to trauma, serving as prognostic markers of morbidity in that population.