Body-temperature circadian rhythm in 67 patients after heart valve replacement surgery secondary to valvular heart disease

Abstract

Purpose: Patient body temperature was monitored after cardiac valve replacement, in order to explore the characteristics of body-temperature circadian rhythm and the factors influencing that rhythm. Methods: A cohort of 67 patients who received cardiac valve replacement in a Fuzhou, Fujian province, China, general hospital underwent temperature measurements and analysis (by cosine curve) of their body-temperature circadian rhythm. A biological rhythm model was established through principal component analysis and evaluation of biological rhythm features. Multiple circadian parameters were included through linear regression analysis. Results: Patients' temperature after cardiac valve replacement exhibited circadian characteristics (p < 0.05), among which the scores of temperature mesor, amplitude, and acrophase were respectively (37.61 ± 0.08), (0.10 ± 0.09), and −33 (–355, –119). Body-temperature rhythms were influenced by both gender and cardiopulmonary bypass time (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Although some patients' circadian characteristics disappeared after cardiac valve replacement, circadian rhythms remained intact for most patients. Measures that were found to mitigate body-temperature circadian rhythm disruption included building a natural rhythm of light/darkness and decreasing cardiopulmonary bypass time.

Keywords

• Body temperature
• Circadian rhythm
• Heart valve replacement
• Rheumatic heart disease