• Guilherme Fregonezi, Palomma Russelly Saldanha Araújo, Tathiana Lindemberg Ferreira Macêdo, Mario Emilio Dourado Junior, Resqueti Vanessa Regiane VR, and Armele de Fátima Dornelas de Andrade.
• PneumoCardioVascular and Respiratory Muscle Performance, Department of Physical Therapy, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal RN, Brazil. fregonezi@ufrnet.br
• Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2013 Mar 1; 71 (3): 146-52.

ObjectiveIt was study the relationship between respiratory muscle strength and forced vital capacity (FVC) in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) versus healthy subjects.MethodsPulmonary function and respiratory muscle strength [maximal inspiratory (PImax), maximal expiratory (PEmax) and sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP)] were assessed in patients with ALS and healthy subjects, matched using cutoffs established in the literature for impaired pulmonary function and respiratory muscle weakness.ResultsTwenty-eight ALS patients and 28 healthy subjects were studied. We found sensitivity and specificity for PImax, PEmax and SNIP of 75/58%, 81/67% and 75/67%. The Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (ROC curve) indicated that the variables PImax, PEmax and SNIP can identify differences in respiratory muscle strength between ALS and healthy individuals at 0.89, 0.9 and 0.82, respectively. A positive correlation was recorded between FVC (%) versus SNIP, PImax and PEmax.ConclusionIn ALS, monitoring respiratory muscle strength assists in early diagnosis of respiratory dysfunction as opposed to the isolated use of FVC.

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