title: Both right and left cervical cordotomies depress sympathetic indexes derived from heart rate variability in humans.
abstract: Unilateral percutaneous cervical cordotomy, performed in humans to relieve intractable cancer pain, elicits signs of ipsilateral sympathetic block. In patients undergoing right or left percutaneous cervical cordotomy (9 per group), changes in sympathovagal balance were evaluated by spectral analysis of heart rate to confirm the sympatholytic effect of this surgical procedure and to investigate the lateralization of sympathetic cardiac control. For these purposes, heart rate variability was recorded 1 hour before cordotomy and 24 hours later. Cordotomy significantly depressed the low frequency peak (LF) of heart rate variability and increased the high frequency component (HF), when measured as a percentage of total power. As a consequence, the LF/HF ratio decreased significantly (P =.001), particularly during standing. The effects of right or left cordotomies were not significantly different. In conclusion, in humans unilateral percutaneous cervical cordotomy depresses some sympathetic indexes (LF/total power ratio and LF/HF ratio) derived from heart rate variability, irrespective of side.
authors.affiliation: Chair of Medical Statistics, Department of Medicine and Public Health, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 8, 37134 Verona, Italy. giuseppe@biometria.univr.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Verlato
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Polati
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Speranza
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Finco
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gottin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ischia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002818:Cordotomy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D010148:Intractable Pain / Q000601:surgery; D012119:Respiration; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*