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Bradycardia May Decrease Cardiorespiratory Coupling in Preterm Infants

Miguel Ángel Porta-García1,2, Alberto Quiroz-Salazar2, Eric Alonso Abarca-Castro3

  • 1Center of Research and Innovation in Information Technology and Communication-INFOTEC, Mexico City 14050, Mexico.

Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)
|December 23, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Bradycardia in preterm infants may reduce cardiorespiratory coupling (CRC) complexity. This study found lower heart rate and breathing variability during bradycardic events, suggesting altered physiological dynamics in vulnerable infants.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal physiology
  • Cardiorespiratory dynamics
  • Autonomic nervous system (ANS) function

Background:

  • Preterm infants exhibit immature autonomic and respiratory systems, increasing risks from bradycardia.
  • Bradycardia can lead to cardiorespiratory events, hypoxemia, and neurodevelopmental issues.
  • The impact of bradycardia on cardiorespiratory coupling (CRC) in preterm infants is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore cardiorespiratory coupling (CRC) in preterm infants.
  • To investigate differences in CRC between bradycardic and non-bradycardic events.
  • To analyze the physiological complexity during bradycardia in preterm neonates.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Preterm Infant Cardio-Respiratory Signals (PICS) database.
  • Analyzed interbeat (R-R) and inter-breath intervals (IBI) from 10 preterm infants.
  • Applied information theory measures to quantify time series irregularity and coupling.

Main Results:

  • Bradycardic (B) segments showed significantly lower R-R and IBI entropy than non-bradycardic (NB) segments.
  • Mutual information was higher in NB segments compared to B segments.
  • Findings suggest reduced complexity in cardiac and respiratory dynamics during bradycardia, potentially indicating weaker CRC.

Conclusions:

  • Bradycardia in preterm infants is associated with reduced physiological complexity and potentially weaker cardiorespiratory coupling.
  • Results highlight distinct physiological characteristics of preterm infants during bradycardic events.
  • Emerging non-invasive tools may offer new diagnostic potential for these conditions.

Keywords:
apnea of prematuritybradycardiacardiorespiratory couplingelectrocardiograminformation theoryneonatal careneurodevelopmentrespiratory signal

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