Ultrasound evaluation of the paralyzed diaphragm.

Ultrasound has been used to evaluate diaphragm thickness in the zone of apposition of the diaphragm to the rib cage. The purpose of this study was to determine if ultrasonography could distinguish between a paralyzed and normally functioning diaphragm. We predicted that a paralyzed diaphragm would be atrophic and not shorten, therefore it would be thin and not thicken during inspiration. Thirty subjects (five with bilateral diaphragm paralysis,...