The Effects Of External Diaphragm Pacer On The Respiratory And Cough Function In Patients After Stroke

Background: In patients with stroke,the motor center of the brain is damaged,and the output signal regulating the respiratory system is weakened,thus affecting the respiratory function.The diaphragm is the most important respiratory muscle,which provides about 60% of the inspiration power.The effective contraction of the diaphragm before cough provides sufficient inspiration.Inadequate diaphragm movement can reduce tidal volume,and increase the risk of aspiration pneumonia.External diaphragmatic pacer(EDP)stimulates phrenic nerves through body surface positioning points and induces diaphragm contraction.It is known that the pulmonary function of patients with stroke is weakened.In our study,EDP was applied to patients with stroke in hope that improving the pulmonary function of patients and reduce the risk of aspiration pneumonia.Objective: To explore the effect of external diaphragmatic pacer on respiratory function and cough function in patients with stroke.Materials and Methods: From September 2017 to March 2019,atotal of 30 patients with stroke treated in the rehabilitation department of the first affiliated hospital of Chongqing medical university were selected.They were randomly divided into the intervention group and the control group.The intervention group accepted for EDP therapy,the control group did not accept any respiratory function training.After 4 weeks treatment,all patients were evaluated with forced vital capacity(FVC),forced expiratory volume in 1 second(FEV1),the peak expiratory cough flow(PECF),the maximum phoation time(MPT)? activities of daily living(ADL).Results: After 4 weeks treatment,FVC,FEV1,PECF,MPT and ADL in the two groups were all higher than baseline,and the differences in FVC ? FEV1 and ADL between the experiment group and the control group were statistically significant(P < 0.05),while the differences in PECF and MPT between the experiment group and the control group were not statistically significant(P > 0.05).Conclusions: External diaphragmatic pacer therapy for patients with stroke can improve pulmonary ventilation function,promote respiratory function recovery and improve the prognosis of patients.