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Blood glucose concentration in pediatric outpatient surgery
W Somboonviboon1, W Kijmahatrakul
1Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Insights
Pediatric patients undergoing outpatient surgery showed increased blood glucose after anesthesia, but no hypoglycemia occurred. Parents should ensure adequate fluid intake to prevent dehydration and manage glucose levels, especially in infants.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Anesthesiology
- Clinical Chemistry
Background:
- Maintaining safe blood glucose levels in pediatric patients during surgery is crucial.
- Fasting and anesthesia can impact glucose homeostasis in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate blood glucose concentration changes in pediatric patients undergoing outpatient surgery.
- To assess the incidence of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia in different age groups.
Main Methods:
- 84 pediatric patients were divided into three age groups ( <1, 1-5, >5 years).
- Blood glucose levels were measured preoperatively and postoperatively after 8-12 hours of fasting and general anesthesia.
- No intraoperative glucose solutions were administered.
Main Results:
- Postoperative blood glucose levels were significantly higher than preoperative levels across all age groups (P < 0.01).
- No cases of hypoglycemia were observed, even with extended fasting.
- Increased postoperative glucose may be attributed to surgical and anesthetic stress responses.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric patients exhibit a stress-induced hyperglycemia post-anesthesia and surgery.
- Hypoglycemia is unlikely in this patient population under the studied conditions.
- Parents should follow fluid intake guidelines to prevent dehydration and manage glucose levels, particularly in younger children.
Abstract:
Blood glucose concentration was measured in 84 pediatric patients who were scheduled for outpatient surgery at Chulalongkorn Hospital. They were allocated into 3 groups according to their ages, group 1:less than 1 year of age, group 2:1 to 5 years of age and group 3:over 5 years. The fasting times were approximately 8-12 hours. All patients received standard general anesthesia under mask. No glucose solution was given during operation. Preoperative mean blood glucose were 91.09 +/- 17.34, 89.55 +/- 18.69 and 82.14 +/- 16.14 mg/dl in group 1, 2 and 3 while the postoperative mean glucose values were 129.07 +/- 37.90, 115.62 +/- 29.63 and 111.53 +/- 23.07 mg/dl respectively. The difference between pre- and post-operative values were statistically significant difference (P < 0.01). None of the children had hypoglycemia even when fasting longer than expected. Increased postoperative glucose values may be due to stress response from surgery and anesthesia. We would suggest that the parents give the fluid to their children according to our instructions in order to prevent dehydration and hypoglycemia especially in small infants.