Young children are more susceptible to the adverse effects of CPB than adults, and the inflammatory response to CPB may have serious consequences for neonatal and pediatric patients.2,3 This is in part related to the surface area of the CPB circuit, which is large relative to the child’s blood volume when compared with an adult’s blood volume. For example, a 3-kg neonate with a blood volume of 90 mL/kg has a total blood volume of approximately 270 mL, and with an average priming volume ...
