Cardiovascular Monitoring in Infants with Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Heart rate, short-term heart rate variability, long-term heart rate variability (LTV), mean arterial blood pressure and R-to-pulse time were recorded in 28 infants during the acute phase of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). The patients were classified by a clinical scoring system into three classes related to the severity of the disease. The LTV was initially significantly (p < 0.01) lower in infants with severe RDS (class III) than in those with moderate or mild disease (classes II and I). Only in class III the LTV increased significantly (p < 0.001) during recovery. Also the mean arterial blood pressure was decreased in class III during the first 24 h of life. The R-to-pulse time proved not to be related to the severity of RDS. Reasonable assistance was achieved by multiparametric circulatory monitoring: a considerably disturbed circulatory control (tendency to hypotension and attenuated chronotropic cardiac control) was observed in the most severe form of RDS. No specific circulatory therapy was applied on the basis of the findings.