Changes in heart rate variability of patients with delirium in intensive care unit

Delirium is an important syndrome in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, however, its characteristics are still unclear. Many evidences showed that this syndrome can be related to the autonomic instability. In this study, we aimed to investigate the possible alterations of autonomic nervous system (ANS) in delirium patients in ICU. Electrocardiography (ECG) of every ICU patient was measured during routine daily ICU care, and the data were gathered to evaluate the heart rate variability (HRV). HRV of total 60 patients were analyzed in time, frequency and non-linear domains. As a result, we found that heart rates of delirium patients were more variable and irregular than non-delirium patients. These findings may facilitate early detection and prevention of delirium in ICU.