P-38 UTILITY OF PUPILLARY REACTIVITY IN THE FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF THE AUTONOMOUS NERVOUS SYSTEM IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Introduction

Autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) is associated with greater severity. Heart rate variability (HRV) allows the assessment of ANS, but its implementation is complex. Pupillary reactivity (PR) by automatic pupillometry (AP) also provides this information; however its usefulness in patients with CLD is unknown.

Objectives

To validate the usefulness of PR in the evaluation of ANS in healthy subjects and patients with CLD through association with HRV.

Methods

Cross-sectional study that includes healthy controls (n = 11) and patients with DHC (n = 26). ANS balance was determined by HRV by Holter rhythm of 5 minutes and RP by AP. HRV / RP of healthy subjects and with CLD, and correlation parameters of both measurements were compared.

Results

Significant differences were found between both groups in the parameters of both HRV and RP, demonstrating an imbalance of the ANS in CLD patients. Differences were significant in 2 of 3 time parameters, in 2 of 3 frequency parameters in HRV and in 5 of 7 objectified by AP. The imbalance increases directly according to the Child stage (p <0.001).

Conclusions

Patients with CLD have an unbalanced ANS and AP was useful in this study to demonstrate this. The most altered parameters in patients with DHC are directly correlated with the function of the parasympathetic ANS.