@article{article_1753112, title={Short-Term Changes in Heart Rate Variability Following Kidney Transplantation: A Comparative Analysis with Healthy Donors}, journal={Journal of Cukurova Anesthesia and Surgical Sciences}, volume={8}, pages={328–332}, year={2025}, author={Çamkıran, Volkan and Achmar, Batool and Kutlu, İlhan and Ürker, Tuğçe Simay}, keywords={kalp hızı değişkenliği, böbrek nakli, otonom sinir sistemi, son dönem böbrek yetmezliği, entropi}, abstract={Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive marker of autonomic nervous system function and an established predictor of cardiovascular outcomes in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). While kidney transplantation may restore physiological homeostasis, the short-term impact on HRV remains unclear. Methods: In this observational study, HRV was measured in 32 kidney transplant recipients and 29 healthy living donors. HRV recordings were obtained one day before and between the 5th and 7th days after transplantation using a Polar H10 monitor and Kubios HRV software. Parameters analyzed included time-domain, frequency-domain, nonlinear, and entropy-based indices. Between-group and within-group comparisons were performed using appropriate parametric or non-parametric tests. Results: Preoperatively, transplant recipients demonstrated significantly lower HRV compared to controls across multiple domains: SDNN (29.3 ± 11.8 vs. 47.6 ± 15.1 ms, p  < 0.001), RMSSD (22.7 ± 10.5 vs. 40.2 ± 13.7 ms, p  < 0.001), LF power (268.4 ± 153.6 vs. 563.2 ± 191.5 ms², p  < 0.001), and HF power (189.2 ± 141.8 vs. 458.7 ± 207.3 ms², p  < 0.001). Postoperatively, HRV in recipients remained significantly lower than in controls for nearly all parameters. Furthermore, within the recipient group, HRV declined further after surgery: SDNN decreased from 29.3 ± 11.8 to 24.6 ± 10.1 ms (p = 0.02), and sample entropy from 1.21 ± 0.18 to 1.07 ± 0.21 (p = 0.01). Similar significant postoperative reductions were observed in total power, SD2, and multiscale entropy. Conclusion: Patients with ESRD exhibit substantial autonomic dysfunction as reflected by reduced HRV, which persists and may worsen in the early post-transplant period. These findings underscore the importance of HRV monitoring in renal transplant recipients and highlight the need for further longitudinal studies.}, number={3}, publisher={Merthan TUNAY}