Phrenic Nerve Conduction Studies and Diaphragmatic EMG Among NOrmal EgYptian Adults

Abstract

The diaphragm is considered an important muscle of respiration that may be involved in various neuromuscular disorders either myopathic affecting the diaphragm itself or neuropathic affecting its phrenic nerve supply. Therefore phrenic nerve conduction studies and diaphragmatic EMG have always been a subject of interest Accordingly, this study was performed aiming at evaluating diaphragmatic function and phrenic nerve conduction among normal Egyptian adults.

The current study was conducted on 50 healthy adult volunteers. All were non-smokers with no history of neuromuscular, chest diseases or open heart surgery. They included 29 (58%) males and 21 (42%) females. Their ages ranged from 15-65 ys with a mean age of 34.29_:!:15.09 ys. Their heights ranged from 150-184 ems with a mean of 167.54_:!:8.28 ems, their weights ranged from 50-120 kgs with a mean of 68.1_:!:13.96 kgs. Chest excursion was measured for all the subjects, and it ranged from 3.5-6 ems with a mean of 4.26+1.17 ems. - Recording of the diaphragmatic CMUAPs and phrenic nerve conduction studies were done using the following EMG apparatuses: - Dantec Key Point TM software version 1.5.