[Regional mesenteric oxygen saturation during blood transfusion in premature neonates]

Neonatal anemia (NA) in premature newborns (PTNB) is common and transfusion is one of the treatments of choice; however, it has been associated with the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

To compare regional oxygen saturation (rSO2) and fraction of tissue oxygen excretion (FTOE) at baseline, during and at the end of transfusion in PTNBs with anemia.

Prospective, observational, longitudinal, and analytical study. PTNBs of 28-36 weeks of gestational age (WGA) admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and with transfusion criteria of Canadian Blood Services were included. rSO2 was measured one hour before, during and up to one hour after transfusion.

20 PTNBs were analyzed, 3 (15%) girls and 17 (85%) boys, aged 33 WGA (IQR 28-36), postnatal age 31 days (IQR 15-50), and weight of 1815 g (IQR 1385-2520). The rSO2 values before, during and after erythrocyte transfusion were 45.5% (IQR 38.25-60.25), 53.3% (IQR 44.25-64.0) and 53.5% (IQR 50.0-64.25), respectively, F = 5.76, p = 0.006, power = 0.83, DF = 2; FTOE values were 0.50 (IQR 0.31-0.56), 0.42 (IQR 0.30-0.50), and 0.39 (IQR 0.27-0.45), respectively, F = 3.53, p = 0.03, power = 0.62, DF = 2.

Mesenteric rSO2 measurements increased and FTOE decreased gradually before, during and after erythrocyte transfusion, without showing correlation with pretransfusion hemoglobin.