ObjectiveTo assess the predictive abilities of postoperative regional oxygen saturation (rSO2) measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and lactate level for early postoperative outcome in children undergoing congenital heart disease surgery.MethodsA total of 73 children (43 males, 30 females, mean age of 91±18 days) undergoing cardiovascular surgery were enrolled from December 2016 to September 2017. The 73 children were divided into an early poor outcome group and a without poor outcome group. Binary logistic regression method was used to determine the independent factors of predicting early poor outcome. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to identify the optimal cutoff values.ResultsThe early poor outcome rate was 47%. By regression analyses, nadir splanchnic rSO2 values, peak lactate level were 2 independent factors of predicting poor outcome. For nadir splanchnic rSO2 alone, the area under the ROC curve for poor outcome were 0.897. For peak lactate alone, the area under the ROC curve for poor outcome was 0.867. After combination of nadir splanchnic rSO2 and peak lactate, the area under the ROC curve for poor outcome increased to 0.944 (P<0.05).ConclusionCombining the parameter of nadir splanchnic rSO2 and peak lactate during the first postoperatively 24 hours yielded to a more accurate predictive ability for early outcome in children undergoing congenital cardiac surgery.