• Lindsay L Warner, Leanne Thalji, Hunter GuevaraLindsay RLRDepartment of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (Drs L. Warner, Thalji, Hunter Guevara, M. Warner, Kor, D. Warner, and Nemergut) and Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics (Mr Hanson), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, Matthew A Warner, Daryl J Kor, David O Warner, Andrew C Hanson, and Michael E Nemergut.
• Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (Drs L. Warner, Thalji, Hunter Guevara, M. Warner, Kor, D. Warner, and Nemergut) and Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics (Mr Hanson), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States of America. Electronic address: warner.lindsay@mayo.edu.
• J Clin Anesth. 2024 Jun 1; 94: 111405111405.

Study ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between pretransfusion and posttransfusion hemoglobin concentrations and the outcomes of children undergoing noncardiac surgery.DesignRetrospective review of patient records. We focused on initial postoperative hemoglobin concentrations, which may provide a more useful representation of transfusion adequacy than pretransfusion hemoglobin triggers (the latter often cannot be obtained during acute surgical hemorrhage).SettingSingle-center, observational cohort study.PatientsWe evaluated all pediatric patients undergoing noncardiac surgery who received intraoperative red blood cell transfusions from January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2018.InterventionsNone.MeasurementsAssociations between pre- and posttransfusion hemoglobin concentrations (g/dL), hospital-free days, intensive care unit admission, postoperative mechanical ventilation, and infectious complications were evaluated with multivariable regression modeling.Main ResultsIn total, 113,713 unique noncardiac surgical procedures in pediatric patients were evaluated, and 741 procedures met inclusion criteria (median [range] age, 7 [1-14] years). Four hundred ninety-eight patients (68%) with a known preoperative hemoglobin level had anemia; of these, 14% had a preexisting diagnosis of anemia in their health record. Median (IQR) pretransfusion hemoglobin concentration was 8.1 (7.4-9.2) g/dL and median (IQR) initial postoperative hemoglobin concentration was 10.4 (9.3-11.6) g/dL. Each decrease of 1 g/dL in the initial postoperative hemoglobin concentration was associated with increased odds of transfusion within the first 24 postoperative hours (odds ratio [95% CI], 1.62 [1.37-1.93]; P < .001). No significant relationships were observed between postoperative hemoglobin concentrations and hospital-free days (P = .56), intensive care unit admission (P = .71), postoperative mechanical ventilation (P = .63), or infectious complications (P = .74).ConclusionsIn transfused patients, there was no association between postoperative hemoglobin values and clinical outcomes, except the need for subsequent transfusion. Most transfused patients presented to the operating room with anemia, which suggests a potential opportunity for perioperative optimization of health before surgery.Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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