Correlation of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) with Invasive Arterial Pressure Monitoring during Aortic Coarctation Surgery in Pediatric Patients

Aortic coarctation surgery in pediatric patients requires the placement of two arterial cannulas to monitor pressure gradients and surgical correction adequacy. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) monitoring provides insight into regional blood flow. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between NIRS values and invasive arterial pressures, exploring NIRS monitoring as a potential substitute for arterial cannulation. In a cohort of 21 consecutive pediatric patients undergoing aortic coarctation surgery, recordings of NIRS and invasive arterial pressure values were evaluated at various time intervals. Pearson correlation evaluated the relationship between NIRS values and invasively measured arterial pressures. Moderate to strong correlations were observed between the mean arterial pressure (MAP) of the upper and lower arteries and cerebral (rSO₂-C) and somatic (rSO₂-S) NIRS values 5 min after cross-clamp placement (r = 0.621, <i>p</i> = 0.003; r = 0.757, <i>p</i> < 0.001). Strong correlations were found 15 min after cross-clamp placement (r = 0.828, <i>p</i> = 0.002; r = 0.783, <i>p</i> = 0.004). Before transfer to the ICU, a strong correlation existed between the upper artery MAP and rSO₂-C (r = 0.730, <i>p</i> < 0.001), but there was no correlation between the lower artery MAP and rSO₂-S. These findings are promising, but further studies are required to validate it as a reliable substitute for invasive pressure monitoring in this patient population.