Learn about the flu shot, COVID-19 vaccine, and our masking policy »
New to MyHealth?
Manage Your Care From Anywhere.
Access your health information from any device with MyHealth. You can message your clinic, view lab results, schedule an appointment, and pay your bill.
ALREADY HAVE AN ACCESS CODE?
DON'T HAVE AN ACCESS CODE?
NEED MORE DETAILS?
MyHealth for Mobile
Get the iPhone MyHealth app »
Get the Android MyHealth app »
Abstract
Our objective was to examine the value of phrenic nerve conduction studies (PNCS) in quantifying diaphragm dysfunction in ALS, as no ideal test of respiratory insufficiency exists in ALS. We prospectively recorded bilateral PNCS, forced vital capacity (FVC), maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP), respiratory rate, ALSFRS-R, and respiratory symptoms in 100 ALS patients attending our clinic over a nine-month period. Survival data were collected for two years. Results showed that PNCS were reproducible and well tolerated. When the Pamp was abnormal (<0.3 mV), the relative risk of a respiratory rate?>18 was 7.2 (95% CI 2.2-37.2, p?<0.01) compared with a Pamp?=0.3 mV. Similarly, the relative risk of orthopnea was 3.5 (95% CI 1.6-8.7, p?<0.01) and dyspnea 2.4 (95% CI 1.4-4.0, p?<0.01). FVC had the strongest correlation with Pamp (R(2)?=?0.48 (p?<0.001)). Fourteen of 15 patients with a FVC?<50% had a Pamp?<0.3 mV. However, eight with a Pamp?<0.3 had a FVC?>80%. The median survival was 1.07 years when the Pamp was?<0.3 mV and?>2 years when the Pamp was?>0.3 mV (p?<0.001). In conclusion, the phrenic Pamp correlated closely with multiple symptoms, signs, and laboratory measures of respiratory insufficiency and may prove to be a useful biomarker of respiratory dysfunction in ALS.
View details for DOI 10.3109/21678421.2015.1112406
View details for Web of Science ID 000374776900008
View details for PubMedID 26618854