IMPORTANCE: 

Persistent hypothermia after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in neonates with congenital heart defects (CHD) has been historically considered benign despite lack of evidence on its prognostic significance.

OBJECTIVES: 

Examine associations between the magnitude and pattern of unintentional postoperative hypothermia and odds of complications in neonates with CHD undergoing CPB.

DESIGN: 

Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING: 

Single northeastern U.S., urban pediatric quaternary care center with an established cardiac surgery program.

PARTICIPANTS: 

Population-based sample of neonates greater than or equal to 34 weeks gestation undergoing their first CPB between 2015 and 2019.

INTERVENTIONS: 

None.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASUREMENTS: 

Hourly temperature measurements for the first 48 postoperative hours were extracted from inpatient medical records, and clinical characteristics and outcomes were accessed through the local patient registry. Group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) identified latent temporal temperature trajectories. Associations of trajectories with outcomes were assessed using multivariable binary logistic regression. Outcomes (postoperative complications) were manually adjudicated by experts or were predefined by the patient registry.

RESULTS: 

Four hundred fifty neonates met inclusion criteria. Their mean (sd) gestational age was 38 weeks (1.3), mean (sd) birth weight was 3.19 kilograms (0.55), median (interquartile range) surgical age was 4.7 days (3.3–7.0), 284 of 450 (63%) were male, and 272 of 450 (60%) were White. GBTM identified three distinct curvilinear temperature trajectories: persistent hypothermia (n = 38, 9%), resolving hypothermia (n = 233, 52%), and normothermia (n = 179, 40%). Compared with the normothermic group, those with persistent hypothermia had significantly higher odds of cardiac arrest, actionable arrhythmia, delayed first successful extubation, prolonged cardiac ICU length of stay, very poor weight gain, and 30-day hospital mortality. The persistent hypothermia group was characterized by greater odds of having a lower gestational age, more prevalent neurologic abnormalities, more unplanned reoperations, and a low surgical mortality risk assessment.

CONCLUSIONS: 

Persistent postoperative hypothermia in neonates after CPB is independently associated with having greater odds of complications. Recovery patterns from postoperative hypothermia may be a clinically useful marker to identify patient instability in neonates. Additional research is needed for causal modeling and prospective validation before clinical adoption.