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A regularity statistic for medical data analysis

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Abstract

A new statistic has been developed to quantify the amount of regularity in data. This statistic, ApEn (approximate entropy), appears to have potential application throughout medicine, notably in electrocardiogram and related heart rate data analyses and in the analysis of endocrine hormone release pulsatility. The focus of this article is ApEn. We commence with a simple example of what we are trying to discern. We then discuss exact regularity statistics and practical difficulties of using them in data analysis. The mathematic formula development for ApEn concludes the Solution section. We next discuss the two key input requirements, followed by an account of a pilot study successfully applying ApEn to neonatal heart rate analysis. We conclude with the important topic of ApEn as a relative (not absolute) measure, potential applications, and some caveats about appropriate usage of ApEn. Appendix A provides example ApEn and entropy computations to develop intuition about these measures. Appendix B contains a Fortran program for computing ApEn. This article can be read from at least three viewpoints. The practitioner who wishes to use a “black box” to measure regularity should concentrate on the exact formula, choices for the two input variables, potential applications, and caveats about appropriate usage. The physician who wishes to apply ApEn to heart rate analysis should particularly note the pilot study discussion. The more mathematically inclined reader will benefit from discussions of the relative (comparative) property of ApEn and from Appendix A.

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I. M. G. is an active-duty Naval officer. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and are not to be construed as reflecting the views of the Navy Department, the Naval Service at large, or the Department of Defense.

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Pincus, S.M., Gladstone, I.M. & Ehrenkranz, R.A. A regularity statistic for medical data analysis. J Clin Monitor Comput 7, 335–345 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01619355

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