Annahita Sedghi

Oct 18, 2024 | onlinelibrary.wiley.com | Annahita Sedghi |Christoph Bartels |Erik J Simon |Florian Krause

INTRODUCTION Critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP) is a common complication of severe illness, affecting up to half of patients undergoing critical care and up to two thirds of those with sepsis [1, 2]. Patients with CIP experience symmetric and flaccid limb weakness as well as weakness of the muscles used for breathing, which worsens clinical outcome and increases mortality [2, 3].

Oct 18, 2024 | fis.tu-dresden.de | Annahita Sedghi |Christoph Bartels |Erik J Simon |Florian Krause

Background and purpose: Critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP) has been linked to neurocardiac dysfunction mediated by autonomic nervous system dysregulation, which increases mortality. We aimed to assess if heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback could improve neurocardiac function in CIP. Methods: We randomly allocated (1:1) patients with electrophysiologically confirmed CIP undergoing early inpatient neurological rehabilitation to additional HRV or sham biofeedback over 14 days.