Heart Rate Variability During Acute Diverticulitis

An increasing number of studies have shown that circadian variation in the excretion of hormones, the sleep-wake cycle, the core body temperature, the tone of the autonomic nervous system and the activity rhythm are important both in health and disease processes. The investigators are interested in investigating the heart rate variability (HRV) during an acute surgical non-inflammatory condition, and to exam whether there are correlations between: HRV and sleep stages, HRV and cytokine levels in blood and HRV and subjective fatigue.

Following methods will be applied

Device: Holter monitor - Medilog AR12 (Oxford Instruments, Oxford, England)

Other: Karolinska Sleepiness Scale

Other: Physical Fatigue Scale

Device: Polysomnograph - Embla Titanium (Natus Medical Incorporated, USA)

Procedure: Plasma cytokines (IL-2, IL-6 and TNF(tumor necrosis factor)-alfa)

Procedure: Plasma CRP(C reactive protein) and leukocytes

Inclusion criteria

• CT-verified diverticulitis patients managed by antibiotic treatment at Herlev Hospital
• Pain and fever occurred less than 72 hours prior to the admission
• ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) score I to III

Exclusion criteria

• Surgical intervention needed
• Complicated diverticulitis
• Complications in relation to diverticulitis
• Pain and fever occurred more than 72 hours prior to the admission
• In anticoagulant treatment and heart rate control treatment
• Known Autoimmune disease
• Known medically treated sleep-disorder (insomnia, restless legs etc.) and sleep apnea
• Shift-work or jetlag
• Daily use of opioid, psychopharmaca, opioids or anxiolytics (including Hypnotics)
• Known psychiatry conditions in treatment with psychopharmaca
• Daily alcohol intake of more than 5 units or drug abuse
• Missing written consent
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Predicted bad compliance
• Pregnant or breast-feeding
• Urine or fecal incontinence
• Severe kidney disease
• Current cancer