Blood Glucose and Cerebral Tissue Oxygenation Immediately after Birth-An Observational Study

To assess a possible association of blood glucose concentration with cerebral regional oxygen saturation (crSO₂) and cerebral fractional tissue oxygen extraction (cFTOE) in neonates born at term and preterm 15 minutes after birth.

A post-hoc analysis of secondary outcome measures of 2 prospective observational studies was performed. Neonates born at term and preterm via cesarean delivery were included if cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy measurements were performed during the immediate transition after birth and blood glucose concentrations were measured at 15-20 minutes after birth. Arterial oxygen saturation and heart rate were measured with pulse oximetry. cFTOE was calculated from arterial oxygen saturation and crSO₂ values. crSO₂ and cFTOE 15 minutes after birth were correlated with blood glucose concentrations.

Seventy-five infants were included. In 50 neonates born at term, crSO₂ and cFTOE 15 minutes after birth were 83 ± 7.7% and 0.14 ± 0.08, respectively. In 25 neonates born preterm, crSO₂ and cFTOE 15 minutes after birth were 80.2 ± 12.1%, and 0.15 ± 0.1, respectively. crSO₂ and cFTOE correlated significantly with blood glucose concentrations in neonates born at term and preterm. Increasing blood glucose concentrations were associated with decreasing crSO₂ in neonates born at term (q = -0.35, P = .01) and neonates born preterm (q = -0.69, P = .01) and with increasing cFTOE in neonates born at term (q = 0.31, P = .03) and neonates born preterm (q = 0.67, P = .01).

Blood glucose concentration was associated with cerebral oxygenation during the immediate transition after birth in neonates born at term and preterm.