Introduction. Sleep disturbances are commonly found in patients in the postoperative period. Sleep disturbances may give rise to several complications including cardiopulmonary instability, transient
cognitive dysfunction and prolonged
convalescence. Many factors including host inflammatory responses are believed to cause postoperative sleep disturbances, as inflammatory responses can alter sleep architecture through
cytokine-brain interactions. Our aim was to investigate alteration of sleep architecture during acute
infection and its relationships to
inflammation and clinical symptoms. Materials & Methods. In this observational study, we included patients with acute uncomplicated
diverticulitis as a model to investigate the isolated effects of inflammatory responses on sleep. Eleven patients completed the study. Patients were admitted and treated with
antibiotics for two nights, during which study endpoints were measured by polysomnography recordings, self-reported discomfort scores and blood samples of
cytokines. One month later, the patients, who now were
in complete remission, were readmitted and the endpoints were re-measured (the baseline values). Results. Total sleep time was reduced 4% and 7% the first (p = 0.006) and second (p = 0.014) nights of
diverticulitis, compared to baseline, respectively. The rapid eye movement sleep was reduced 33% the first night (p = 0.016), compared to baseline. Moreover, plasma
IL-6 levels were correlated to non-rapid eye movement sleep, rapid eye movement sleep and
fatigue. Conclusion. Total sleep time and rapid eye movement sleep were reduced during nights with active
diverticulitis and correlated with markers of
inflammation.