Heart rate variability and surgical pleth index under anesthesia in poor and normal sleepers

Elevated Surgical Pleth Index at the End of Surgery Is Associated with Postoperative Moderate-to-Severe Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Despite acceptance of the surgical pleth index (SPI) for monitoring the intraoperative balance between noxious stimulation and anti-nociception under general anesthesia, its efficacy for predicting postoperative moderate-to-severe pain remains unclear. We searched electronic databases (e.g., Google Scholar, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE) to identify articles focusing on associations of SPI at the end of surgery with immediate moderate-to-severe pain in the postanesthesia care unit from inception to 7 July 2022. A total of six observational studies involving 756 adults published between 2016 and 2020 were eligible for quantitative syntheses. Pooled results revealed higher values of SPI in patients with moderate-to-severe pain than those without (mean difference: 7.82, 95% CI: 3.69 to 11.95, p = 0.002, I2 = 46%). In addition, an elevated SPI at the end of surgery was able to predict moderate-to-severe pain with a sensitivity of 0.71 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.65–0.77; I2 = 29.01%) and a specificity of 0.58 (95% CI: 0.39–0.74; I2 = 79.31%). The overall accuracy based on the summary receiver operating characteristic (sROC) curve was 0.72. In conclusion, this meta-analysis highlighted the feasibility of the surgical pleth index to predict postoperative moderate-to-severe pain immediately after surgery. Our results from a limited number of studies warrant further investigations for verification.

Stress and autonomic nerve dysfunction monitoring in perioperative gastric cancer patients using a smart device

Background

Heart rate variability (HRV), a sensitive marker of stress and autonomic nervous disorders, was significantly decreased in cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and surgical injury. However, the effect of radical gastrectomy on HRV parameters needs to be further investigated.

Methods

A prospective, observational study including 45 consecutive enrolled patients undergoing radical gastrectomy in our enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs was conducted. Frequency‐ and time‐domain parameters of HRV from 1 day prior to operation to 4 days postoperatively were continuously measured. Meanwhile, plasma cortisol and inflammatory markers were recorded and correlated to HRV parameters.

Results

Heart rate variability showed a solidly circadian rhythm. Anesthesia severely disturbed HRV parameters, resulting in a reduction of most of the HRV parameters. Frequency‐domain parameter (including VLF) and time‐domain parameters (including the SDNN, SDANN, and triangular index) of HRV demonstrated a significant reduction compared to preoperative values on the postoperative day 1 (Pod1), and these HRV parameters could return to baseline on Pod2 or Pod3, indicating surgical stress and autonomic nerve dysfunction existed in the early postoperative period. Inflammatory biomarkers were significantly elevated on Pod1 and Pod3. Plasma cortisol decreased significantly on Pod1 and Pod3. Both inflammatory biomarkers and plasma cortisol had no significant correlation with HRV parameters.

Conclusions

Compared with plasma cortisol and inflammation biomarkers, HRV is more sensitive to detect surgical stress and autonomic nervous dysfunction induced by radical gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer.