Study on energy metabolism in perioperative infants

To evaluate resting energy expenditure (REE) in surgical infants and define the effects of the degree of stress on its level.

Between June 1999 and June 2003 forty-five infants awaiting surgery (boys/girls: 32/13) from the Department of Pediatric Surgery were entered in the study. Indirect calorimetry was used to measure the REE of all the patients before operation and 1 - 7 days after operation. Clinical data were collected, including age, weight, height, diagnosis, operative method, site and duration, and first day postoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) levels.

The REE before operation did not differ significantly from the postoperative values (paired t-test, p > 0.05). The predicted REE was significantly higher than the measured REE even before and after the operation (p < 0.01). REE values in the first three postoperative days were lower in the mild stress group than in the severe surgical stress group.

REE variation among the patients is relatively large. Changes in REE may be related to the degree of stress. Predicted REE values may be not a good reflection of measured REE.