Spinal cord
-
The functional outcome of the diaphragm after acute spinal cord injury was reviewed over a 16 year period for 107 patients who had required assisted ventilation in the acute phase. ⋯ Twenty-one per cent of the patients with initial diaphragm paralysis were ultimately able to breathe independently after 4 and 14 months, whilst a further 15% had some diaphragm recovery. Phrenic nerve testing should be repeated at 3 monthly intervals for the first year after high tetraplegia.