[home] [Personal Program] [Help]

---

Session: Poster session I
Session starts: Thursday 24 January, 15:00

---

Mario Lavanga (STADIUS, ESAT, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)
Elisabeth Heremans (STADIUS, ESAT, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)
Alexander Caicedo (MACC, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota', Colombia)
Katrien Jansen (UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)
Els Ortibus (UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)
Gunnar Naulaers (UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)
Sabine Van Huffel (STADIUS, ESAT, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)

Abstract:
Multiple studies have shown that the analysis of heart-rate variability (HRV) can be used to assess the development of premature infants [1]. However, due to the fact that these patients experience sudden bradycardias, the HRV time course can be disturbed [2]. The objective of this study is to propose an autonomic growth model for newborns and assess the effect of the bradycardias on its output. ECG was recorded from 25 premature patients with a post-menstrual age ranging from 27 to 42 weeks. After extracting HRV, each recording was segmented in 10 minutes windows, which were grouped in segments with bradycardias and in between bradycardias. Standard temporal, spectral and fractal features, such as the RR standard deviation ( ), the ratio between VLF and LF power bands, the regularity exponent (H) and its variation (C2), were computed. The time, spectral and fractal features were used in three linear mixed-effect models to predict infants’ PMA. Each model was assessed via the mean absolute error (MAE) for both the segments with and without bradycardias. Overall, the HRV parameters were significantly correlated with age (Pearson correlation = 64%, H = -43%, C2 = 53%, VLF/LF = -40%) if bradycardias were excluded, but these correlations were lost in case of bradycardia inclusion ( = 4%, H = -36%). These results are supported by the time, spectral and fractal maturation models: the errors obtained were 2.57, 2.38, 2.25 weeks in case of bradycardias inclusion, but the MAEs shifted to respectively to 1.78, 2.02, 2.31 weeks if those events were excluded. In conclusion, bradycardias should be filtered in the HRV analysis to track preterm development via autonomic age model, whose results are in line with more common EEG based models.