Background

It is important to identify the pathological characteristics of cerebral circulation and oxygen metabolism at the bedside in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) to prevent neurodevelopmental impairments. The brain regional oxygen saturation index (rSO2) can be easily obtained at the bedside with near-infrared spectroscopy and has been widely used in the management of children with CHD in recent years.

Methods

To determine if the rSO2 before or after CHD surgery is a good predictor of cerebral oxygen metabolism, we investigated the impact of different clinical variables on the correlation between rSO2 and reference values under steady ratios of hemoglobin oxygen saturation in the internal jugular vein (SjvO2) or femoral artery (SaO2) (0.75:0.25, 0.66:0.34, and 0.50:0.50) in 186 children with CHD undergoing cardiac catheterization.

Results

In three patient groups—double ventricles before surgery, double ventricles after surgery, and single ventricle before surgery—there were significant relationships between rSO2 and the reference values of SO2 under all three steady ratios of SjvO2 and SaO2. No relationship with the reference values was found for the single ventricle after surgery group.

Conclusions

Regional oxygen saturation index is useful for assessing cerebral oxygenation in children with CHD, but knowledge of the underlying cardiac pathology in CHD, especially in the case of a single ventricle after surgery, is important for the correct interpretation of rSO2 measurements obtained using near-infrared spectroscopy.