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Spectral analysis of heart rate fluctuations and optimum thermal management for low birth weight infants

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Abstract

Spectral analysis of heart rate variability is studied in 10 healthy growing premature infants to investigate the changes in autonomic balance achieved as a function of changes in skin temperature. Heart rate is obtained from ECG recordings and the power spectrum of beat-to-beat heart rate fluctuations is computed. The infants maintain mean rectal temperature within 36.3–37.2°C, while skin temperature changes. The respiratory rate does not change at the different servocontrol set points. Heart rate is found to increase slightly, but consistently. The low-frequency band (0.02–0.2 Hz), reflecting the interplay of the sympathetic and parasympathetic tone and known to be maximum at the thermoneutral zone, is maximum at 35.5 and 36°C and decreases gradually to a lower level at a servocontrol temperature of 36.5–37°C. The high-frequency band (0.2–2.0 Hz), coinciding with the respiratory peak and reflecting parasympathetic activity, is significantly elevated at 36°C (p<0.01). The minimum low: high ratio, indicating the minimum sympathetic-parasympathetic balance and possibly reflecting the most comfortable conditions, occurs at 36°C, although the differences are not statistically significant. Servocontrol skin temperature may thus be adapted, and possibly selected at 36°C for growing premature infants in an attempt to achieve thermal comfort and more balanced autonomic activity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neonatology, Beilinson Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 699978, Tel Aviv, Israel

    S. Davidson & N. Reina

  2. Department of Medical Physics, School of Physics & Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel

    O. Shefi, U. Hai-Tov &  S. Akselrod

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  1. S. Davidson
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  2. N. Reina
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  3. O. Shefi
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  4. U. Hai-Tov
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  5. S. Akselrod
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Correspondence to S. Akselrod.

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Davidson, S., Reina, N., Shefi, O. et al. Spectral analysis of heart rate fluctuations and optimum thermal management for low birth weight infants. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 35, 619–625 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02510969

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02510969

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