Ann Clin Neurophysiol.  2018 Jul;20(2):93-96. 10.14253/acn.2018.20.2.93.

Sonographic evaluation of the diaphragm in patients with unilateral diaphragmatic paralysis

• Seok JI
• Kim KC
• Rha HJ
• Lee SR

• KMID: 2454712
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14253/acn.2018.20.2.93

Abstract

Evaluation of diaphragm function is challenging because no single test has a high diagnostic yield. We describe ultrasound findings in three cases with acquired unilateral diaphragmatic elevation. These cases confirm that sonographic evaluation is a valid tool for identifying diaphragm dysfunction. In addition, ultrasound measurements of diaphragm thickness and the contractility can be used to determine if a diaphragm is paralyzed and suggest the duration of paralysis (i.e., acute or chronic).

Keyword

Ultrasonography; Diaphragm; Paralysis

MeSH Terms

Diaphragm*
Humans
Paralysis
Respiratory Paralysis*
Ultrasonography*

Reference

References

1. Sarwal A, Walker FO, Cartwright MS. Neuromuscular ultrasound for evaluation of the diaphragm. Muscle Nerve. 2013; 47:319–329.

2. Markand ON, Kincaid JC, Pourmand RA, Moorthy SS, King RD, Mahomed Y, et al. Electrophysiologic evaluation of diaphragm by transcutaneous phrenic nerve stimulation. Neurology. 1984; 34:604–614.

3. Seok JI, Kim SY, Walker FO, Kwak SG, Kwon DH. Ultrasonographic findings of the normal diaphragm: thickness and contractility. Ann Clin Neurophysiol. 2017; 19:131–135.

4. Baldwin CE, Paratz JD, Bersten AD. Diaphragm and peripheral muscle thickness on ultrasound: intra-rater reliability and variability of a methodology using non-standard recumbent positions. Respirology. 2011; 16:1136–1143.

5. Boon AJ, Harper CJ, Ghahfarokhi LS, Strommen JA, Watson JC, Sorenson EJ. Two-dimensional ultrasound imaging of the diaphragm: quantitative values in normal subjects. Muscle Nerve. 2013; 47:884–889.

6. Gottesman E, McCool FD. Ultrasound evaluation of the paralyzed diaphragm. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1997; 155:15701574.

7. Summerhill EM, El-Sameed YA, Glidden TJ, McCool FD. Monitoring recovery from diaphragm paralysis with ultrasound. Chest. 2008; 133:737743.