Heart rate variability can't be used to evaluate acute distress in preterm infants

Facilitated tucking during early neonatologist‐performed echocardiography in very preterm neonates

“…The first echocardiography was performed at a postnatal age of 13 [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] hours, with no difference between groups (p = 0.51). The duration of each scan was 12 [10][11][12][13][14] minutes.…”

“…Echocardiography provided data on pulmonary artery flow and pressure, right and left ventricular function, and persistent ductus arteriosus. Comfort was assessed by a behavioural scale of pain, variations in heart rate (HR) and SpO 2 , and a newborn infant parasympathetic evaluation index based on the highfrequency variability in HR.Results: Fifty newborns, with mean gestational age of 28 [26.6-29.0] weeks and mean birthweight of 950 [780-1190] g, were studied at a postnatal age of 13 [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] hours. FT was associated with longer acceleration time/right ventricular ejection time in the main pulmonary artery (p = 0.006), reduced averaged HR variations (p = 0.03) and lower pain scores (p < 0.001).…”