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

Background: 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).

Objective: 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.

Material and methods: 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.

Results: 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.

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