Analysis of heart rate variability in assessing the autonomic status of tuberculosis patients and in combination with HIV infection
Authors: Brazhenko О. N. , Loshchakova A. I. 
Published: September 2024

In this study, a comprehensive instrumental assessment of the autonomic status of tuberculosis patients and those with concomitant HIV infection at the beginning and during treatment was conducted, revealing the structure of dysfunction through heart rate variability analysis. Correcting the identiﬁed disorders will enhance the effectiveness of treatment through a comprehensive individualized approach.

The aim of the study: to assess the autonomic status of patients with tuberculosis and concomitant HIV infection during the course of treatment using spectral analysis of heart rate variability and to determine its clinical signiﬁcance.

Materials and methods. The study involved 195 participants. They were divided into two groups: a control group of 70 healthy individuals and an observation group of 125 newly diagnosed patients with inﬁltrative and disseminated pulmonary tuberculosis, further divided into two subgroups. The ﬁrst subgroup included 64 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, and the second subgroup included 61 patients with tuberculosis combined with HIV infection. The structure of the autonomic nervous system was studied using the computer complex «Varicard 2.51» for processing variocardiograms and analyzing heart rate variability (Registration certiﬁcate for medical device dated 10.12.2007 No. FSR 2007/01390). All patients were examined under identical conditions. Calculations were performed using SPSS Statistics v. 23.

Results and discussion. The data on the assessment of the state and dynamics of the total power spectrum of RR intervals (TP) in the control group and in patients with tuberculosis and concomitant HIV infection in subgroups 1 and 2 of the observation group during treatment are presented. When comparing the frequency of TP above the «normal zone» in the control group and subgroup 1 of the observation group (t1= 3.30; p1<0.01; t2=1.70; p2>0.05), in the control group and subgroup 2 of the observation group (t1=3.51; p1<0.01; t2=2.64; p2<0.01), statistically signiﬁcant differences were found in subgroup 1 before treatment and in subgroup 2 before and after treatment. The signiﬁcant decrease in TP levels above the «normal zone» in patients of subgroups 1 and 2 before treatment indicated signiﬁcant mobilization of the body’s regulatory system reserves needed to maintain vital functions. By the end of the hospital treatment stage, TP levels had not recovered in patients of subgroup 2, marking more pronounced regulatory disturbances in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis combined with HIV infection.

Conclusion. The assessment of the state of regulatory systems and the body’s reserves based on heart rate variability indicators showed that in healthy individuals, these systems were at levels ensuring the body’s normal homeostatic balance with the regulatory systems functioning normally without excessive stress and high resource mobilization. In patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, the state of regulatory systems was at a lower level, especially in patients with concomitant HIV infection.