Effect of haematocrit on wound healing in children.

The effects of mild or moderate normovolaemic anaemia on wound healing (WH) continue to be debatable. The results of animal experiments and clinical experience are somewhat controversial. In this study, sixty-six boys, aged from 5 to 15, mean 10.1 years, were routinely operated on for a unilateral inguinal hernia, after which their WH was studied by the Cellstic device. Based on differential count of wound cells and their mutual transformed cell to cell ratios it was found that the optimum level of haematocrit (Hct) for WH was 37-39% with haemoglobin (Hb) values of 12.0-12.4 g/100 ml. Hct values under and over these limits began to retard WH significantly (p less than 0.02) without any visual signs of delay in WH. Both values are below the age adjusted means but just above the lower limits of normal. It is thus allowed, for the majority of healthy children with normal blood values, a mild decrease of Hct during the operation without any harmful effect on WH.