OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of autonomic dysfunction in cirrhosis and to observe the effect of disease severity on autonomic dysfunction. METHODS: Seventy patients with cirrhosis (Child's class A, 42; Child's class B, 10; and Child's class C, 15) (45 alcoholic, 15 primary biliary cirrhosis, five chronic active hepatitis, and eight idiopathic) underwent standard cardiovascular reflex tests. In addition, in 40 patients, 24-h ECG RR variability tests were performed to detect autonomic dysfunction. RESULTS: Forty-two of 70 (60%) patients had abnormalities of cardiovascular reflex function of varying severity, whereas 24 of 34 (70%) had 24-h RR counts with the 95% age-related tolerance. The prevalence of abnormality increased with increasing severity of liver disease but not with different etiologies. CONCLUSION: Irrespective of etiology, there is a high prevalence of autonomic dysfunction in cirrhosis, and it is related to disease severity: the mechanism is unknown.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of autonomic dysfunction in cirrhosis and to observe the effect of disease severity on autonomic dysfunction. METHODS: Seventy patients with cirrhosis (Child's class A, 42; Child's class B, 10; and Child's class C, 15) (45 alcoholic, 15 primary biliary cirrhosis, five chronic active hepatitis, and eight idiopathic) underwent standard cardiovascular reflex tests. In addition, in 40 patients, 24-h ECG RR variability tests were performed to detect autonomic dysfunction. RESULTS: Forty-two of 70 (60%) patients had abnormalities of cardiovascular reflex function of varying severity, whereas 24 of 34 (70%) had 24-h RR counts with the 95% age-related tolerance. The prevalence of abnormality increased with increasing severity of liver disease but not with different etiologies. CONCLUSION: Irrespective of etiology, there is a high prevalence of autonomic dysfunction in cirrhosis, and it is related to disease severity: the mechanism is unknown.
Authors: Katalin Keresztes; Ildikó Istenes; Aniko Folhoffer; Peter L Lakatos; Andrea Horvath; Timea Csak; Peter Varga; Peter Kempler; Ferenc Szalay Journal: World J Gastroenterol Date: 2004-10-15 Impact factor: 5.742
Authors: Vibe G Frøkjaer; Gitte I Strauss; Jesper Mehlsen; Gitte M Knudsen; Verner Rasmussen; Fin S Larsen Journal: Clin Auton Res Date: 2006-03-29 Impact factor: 5.625
Authors: Dimitris G Tzamouranis; Alexandra Alexopoulou; Spyros P Dourakis; George S Stergiou Journal: BMC Gastroenterol Date: 2010-12-12 Impact factor: 3.067