Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 90, Issue 4 , Pages 580-586 , April 2009

Diagnosing Dysautonomia After Acute Traumatic Brain Injury: Evidence for Overresponsiveness to Afferent Stimuli

  • Ian J. Baguley, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
    • Rehabilitation Studies Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests to Ian J. Baguley, PhD, Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service, Westmead Hospital, PO Box 533, Wentworthville, NSW 2145, Australia
    • ,
  • Melissa T. Nott, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
    • ,
  • Shameran Slewa-Younan, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
    • Rehabilitation Studies Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
    • ,
  • Roxana E. Heriseanu, MBBS

      Affiliations

    • Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
    • ,
  • Iain E. Perkes

      Affiliations

    • Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge Department of Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
    • School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

  • Image Result

    Plot of group mean LF/HF ratio and heart rate for 100 beats pre/poststimulus. NOTE. Displays the relationship between LF/HF ratio and heart rate for each group: sTBI group, DYS− group, DYS+ group, bef

    Plot of group mean LF/HF ratio and heart rate for 100 beats pre/poststimulus. NOTE. Displays the relationship between LF/HF ratio and heart rate for each group: sTBI group, DYS− group, DYS+ group, before and after stimulus application. The sTBI group showed minimal change. DYS− and DYS+ groups showed collinear response patterns, with the DYS+ group achieving a 2-fold increase over the DYS− group. Abbreviations: DYS+, dysautonomic; DYS−, nondysautonomic; sTBI, standard TBI.

  • Image Result
    Normalized group beat-to-beat change in heart rate for 100 beats pre-/poststimulus. The figure highlights the differences in immediate HR response to the stimulus across each group. Poststimulus HR in

    Normalized group beat-to-beat change in heart rate for 100 beats pre-/poststimulus. The figure highlights the differences in immediate HR response to the stimulus across each group. Poststimulus HR increased by 2% in the sTBI group, 8% in the DYS− group, and by 16% in the DYS+ group. Abbreviations: DYS+, dysautonomic; DYS−, nondysautonomic; sTBI, standard TBI.

 Supported by the Motor Accidents Authority of New South Wales, Australia (grant no. 02/836).

 No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.

PII: S0003-9993(09)00060-4

doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2008.10.020

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 90, Issue 4 , Pages 580-586 , April 2009

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