title: Reproducibility of non-standardised autonomic function testing in the pre-operative assessment screening clinic*.
abstract: By convention, autonomic function tests are undertaken under standard test conditions that limit their implementation during routine pre-operative assessment. We therefore evaluated the comparability of autonomic function tests under both non-standardised and standardised test conditions in 20 healthy male subjects. Autonomic function was assessed using an ECG monitor and a continuous non-invasive blood pressure measurement device. Under non-standardised conditions, intraclass correlation for heart rate variability analysis was good for the low and high frequency bands (0.87; 95% CI 0.58-0.96 and 0.83; 95% CI 0.56-0.94, respectively), but moderate (0.65; 95% CI 0.14-0.86) for the very low frequency band; reproducibility was high for the expiration/inspiration ratio (0.89; 95% CI 0.71-0.96), Valsalva ratio (0.76; 95% CI 0.37-0.91) and handgrip test (0.76; 95% CI 0.35-0.91) (all p<0.05) but was low for the response to quick standing. Reproducibility under standardised conditions was comparable to the above values. We demonstrated that reproducibility for most autonomic tests under non-standardised conditions is acceptable and suggest that implementation of these tests during pre-operative assessment may be feasible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: S W M
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Keet
authors.forename: C S E
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Bulte
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boer
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bouwman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000379:methods; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014636:Valsalva Maneuver / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult