Korean J Anesthesiol.  2006 Jun;50(6):655-662. 10.4097/kjae.2006.50.6.655.

Assessment of Cardiovascular Autonomic Function in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis Using Heart Rate Variability, Blood Pressure Variability and Baroreflex Sensitivity

• Youn MO
• Kang SJ
• Jun IG
• Shin WJ
• Choi BM
• Do KJ
• Cho SJ
• Choi JH
• Song JG
• Huh IY
• Kim YK
• Hwang GS

• KMID: 1862242
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4097/kjae.2006.50.6.655

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Liver cirrhosis is associated with several hemodynamic abnormalities, including an impairment of autonomic nervous system reflexes, but very few have compared the disease severity with cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction assessed by spectral analysis of blood pressure and electrocardiogram. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score and autonomic indices in patients with liver cirrhosis using the heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure variability (BPV) and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS).
METHODS
Fifty patients scheduled for liver transplantation recipients under general anesthesia were enrolled in the study. Beat-to-beat blood pressure and RR interval were measured for five minutes before anesthesia induction. HRV and BPV were estimated by power spectral analysis of RR interval and systolic blood pressure. BRS was estimated by both the sequence method (Sequence BRS) and high frequency (HF) gain of transfer function analysis (HF BRS).
RESULTS
Significant inverse correlations between CTP score and Sequence BRS (r = -0.61), HF BRS (r = -0.59), low frequency (LF) and HF power of HRV (r = -0.57, r = -0.46), LF power of BPV (r = -0.37) were found. However, no significant correlations were observed between CTP score and LF/HF ratio of HRV (r = -0.02) and HF power of BPV (r = 0.27).
CONCLUSIONS
These results showed that autonomic dysfunction assessed by spectral analysis was associated with increasing severity of liver cirrhosis. Further study will be needed to clarify relationship between our findings and hemodynamic fluctuations during anesthesia for liver transplantation.

Keyword

baroreflex sensitivity; blood pressure variability; Child-Turcotte-Pugh score; heart rate variability; liver transpantation

MeSH Terms

Anesthesia
Anesthesia, General
Autonomic Nervous System
Baroreflex*
Blood Pressure*
Cytidine Triphosphate
Electrocardiography
Heart Rate*
Heart*
Hemodynamics
Humans
Liver Cirrhosis*
Liver Transplantation
Liver*
Reflex
Cytidine Triphosphate