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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Pediatr. 2014 Jan 10;164(4):775–780. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2013.11.038

Figure 1. heart rate characteristics index monitor showing normal and abnormal heart rate characteristics.

Figure 1

The heart rate characteristics monitor analyzes electrocardiogram signals from bedside monitors for abnormal heart rate characteristics of decreased variability and transient decelerations and presents a number which is the fold increased risk an infant will experience a clinical deterioration consistent with sepsis in the next 24 hours. The monitor displays the last 5 days of the heart rate characteristics index (top, orange) and the last 30 minutes of heart rate (bottom, green, beats per minute). A) Normal heart rate characteristics reflected by a low heart rate characteristics index. The current index, 0.88, is shown in the top right panel, and the 5-day trend is generally <1 with a small transient rise to 2. B) Large transient rise (“spike”) in the heart rate characteristics index from baseline <1 to 3.51 at the arrow, reflecting decreased heart rate variability and transient decelerations.