Postoperative cerebral oxygenation was not associated with new brain injury in infants with congenital heart disease.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate postoperative indices of cerebral oxygenation and autoregulation in infants with critical congenital heart disease in relation to new postoperative ischemic brain injury.

Methods: This prospective, clinical cohort included 77 infants with transposition of the great arteries (N = 19), left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (N = 30), and single ventricle physiology (N = 28) undergoing surgery at 30 days or less of life. Postoperative near-infrared spectroscopy and physiologic monitoring were applied to extract mean arterial blood pressure, regional cerebral oxygen saturation, fractional tissue oxygen extraction, and regional cerebral oxygen saturation mean arterial blood pressure correlation coefficient (≥0.5 considered sign of impaired cerebral autoregulation). New postoperative ischemic injury was defined as moderate-severe white matter injury or focal infarction on magnetic resonance imaging. Low cardiac output syndrome was measured as lactate greater than 4 mmol/L with pH less than 7.30.

Results: After surgery, regional cerebral oxygen saturation was decreased in all congenital heart disease groups with a notable increase in regional cerebral oxygen saturation between 6 and 12 hours after surgery, on average with a factor of 1.4 (range, 1.1-2.4). Both single ventricle physiology and postoperative low cardiac output syndrome were associated with lower regional cerebral oxygen saturation and increased time with correlation coefficient of 0.5 or greater. New postoperative ischemic injury was seen in 39 patients (53%) and equally distributed across congenital heart disease groups. Postoperative regional cerebral oxygen saturation, fractional tissue oxygen extraction, and correlation coefficient were not independently associated with new postoperative white matter injury or focal infarction (mixed-model analysis, all F > 0.12).

Conclusions: Postoperative indices of cerebral oxygenation and cerebral autoregulation are not independent predictors of new ischemic brain injury in infants with critical congenital heart disease. Further exploration of the complex interplay among low regional cerebral oxygen saturation, low cardiac output syndrome, and heart defect is required to identify potential biomarkers enabling early intervention for ischemic brain injury.