Preoperative coagulation tests in former preterm infants undergoing spinal anaesthesia

Background: Clinical history is insufficient to detect disorders of haemostasis in infants aged less than 1 year and laboratory coagulation testing is recommended in infants before perimedullar anaesthesia. Method: We designed a retrospective study to assess the preoperative coagulation tests [activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), prothrombin time, platelet count] performed in 141 former preterm infants who underwent spinal anaesthesia for elective inguinal hernia repair. All the infants had recovered from any significant medical event (necrotizing enterocolitis, intracranial haemorrhages, transfusions of blood products, sepsis, etc.) when they were scheduled for surgery. Results: Mean values for aPTT were frequently abnormal (60.4%) in infants with a postconceptional age of less than 45 weeks. No complication related to the puncture or abnormal perioperative bleeding was detected. Conclusions: Other coagulation tests should be evaluated to assess the coagulation status in infants with a postconceptional age of less than 45 weeks.