R. Dorffner et al., SIGNIFICANCE OF SONOGRAPHY IN THE INTENSIVE-CARE UNIT FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF DIAPHRAGMATIC PARALYSIS, RoFo. Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Rontgenstrahlen und der neuenbildgebenden Verfahren, 169(3), 1998, pp. 274-277
Citations number
17
Categorie Soggetti
Radiology,Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Journal title
RoFo. Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Rontgenstrahlen und der neuenbildgebenden Verfahren
Purpose: To assess the value of bedside sonography in the detection of
diaphragmatic paralysis in patients in the intensive care unit, Metho
ds: In this study, 100 patients who were admitted to the intensive car
e unit after thoracic operations were evaluated. Sonography of each he
midiaphragm was performed with coronal scans at the mid-axillary line
on both sides with the patient supine. Absent and paradoxical diaphrag
matic movement was considered to be indicative of diaphragmatic paraly
sis. All patients underwent additional fluoroscopy within 5 days. Resu
lts: In 13 patients (13%) sonography revealed diaphragmatic paralysis.
All these results were confirmed with fluoroscopy resulting in a sens
itivity and specificity for sonography of 100%. Conclusion: Bedside so
nography of the diaphragm at the intensive care unit is a reliable too
l for diagnosing diaphragmatic paralysis.