Risk Factors for Intraoperative Hypoglycemia in Children: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study

Intraoperative hypoglycemia can result in devastating neurologic injury if not promptly diagnosed and treated. Few studies have defined risk factors for intraoperative hypoglycemia. The authors sought to characterize children with intraoperative hypoglycemia and determine independent risk factors in a multicenter cohort.

This retrospective multicenter study included all patients <18 years undergoing an anesthetic from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2016, at 12 institutions participating in the Multicenter Perioperative Outcomes Group (MPOG). The primary outcome was blood glucose <60 mg/dL (3.3 mmol/L). Data collected included patient characteristics, comorbidities, and intraoperative factors. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify independent predictors of intraoperative hypoglycemia.

Blood glucose was measured in 26,142 of 394,231 (6.6%) cases. Of these, 1017 (3.9%) had a glucose <60 mg/dL (3.3 mmol/L). Independent predictors for intraoperative hypoglycemia identified were age <30 days (estimated adjusted odds ratio [AOR] vs ≥5 years 4.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.4-5.3), age 30 days to <5 years (estimated AOR vs ≥5 years 2.7; 95% CI, 2.3-3.2), weight for age <5th percentile (estimated AOR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.4-1.9), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) status ≥III (estimated AOR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6), presence of a gastric or jejunal tube (estimated AOR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6), poor feeding (estimated AOR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2-1.7), and abdominal surgery (estimated AOR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1-1.7). Eighty percent of hypoglycemia occurred in children <5 years of age and in children <20 kg.

Young age, weight for age <5th percentile, ASA status ≥III, having a gastric or jejunal tube, poor feeding, and abdominal surgery were risk factors for intraoperative hypoglycemia in children. Monitoring of blood glucose is recommended in these subsets of children.