[Blood sugar levels and acid-base balance in babies before, during and after open-heart surgery with hypothermia and extracorporeal circulation (author's transl)].

New borns and babies with congenital heart disease in poor condition have been shown to have a higher risk of developing hypoglycaemia. Blood sugar levels (BSL), acid-base balance and oxygen saturation have been studies in 10 babies from 7.5 to 15 months of age, weighing less than 9kg, before, during and after open-heart surgery. Preoperative mean BSL in the anaesthetized patient was 76mg per cent. It rose slightly after the onset of surgery and further increased to an average of 205mg per cent during cardio-pulmonary bypass with the temperature stablized at 28-29 degrees C. In the early postoperative phase BSL normalized but slowly, reaching a mean value of 107mg per cent 20-24h after the end of surgery. These results demonstrate that, at least under the usual conditions of extracorporeal circulation and hypothermia at our clinic, hypoglycaemia is not a threat in babies undergoing open-heart surgery for total correction of congenital lesions. The possible mechanisms leading to the observed hyperglycaemia are discussed and the results compared with similar studies in adult patients.