Early diagnosis by CAT scan of the neck and thorax aids in rapid indication of a surgical approach of DNM. Performing ample cervicotomy with mediastinal drainage generally associated with thoracotomy can significantly reduce the mortality rate for this condition to 14%.

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BACKGROUND: Pectus excavatum (PEX) is a depression of the sternum in relation to the costal cartilages. Clinical and objective measures for classifying the defect are rare and difficult to apply. The present study aimed to create an anthropometric index (AI) for PEX as a method for diagnosis and for preoperative and postoperative assessment by comparing it to the Haller index (HI) and to the lower vertebral index (LVI). METHODS: From December 2001 to February 2004, 2 groups of patients were studied at our institution: a) 30 patients with normal configuration of the thoracic cage, upon physical examination; b) 20 patients with PEX. The latter underwent surgery according to the Ravitch technique modified by Robicsek, and they were evaluated in the postoperative period. All patients were assessed by means of the AI (clinical), HI (tomographic), and LVI (radiographic) measures at the level of deepest deformity in the case of the PEX patients, and in the distal third of the sternum in the normal patients. The patients who had undergone surgery were once again measured between the 60th and the 80th postoperative days. RESULTS: There was a high correlation between the AI and the HI (80% P < .001) and between the AI and the LVI (79% P < .001). The accuracy of the 3 indices was similar, in that the following cut points were established: AI = 0.12, HI = 3.10, and LVI = 0.25. Upon analyzing the preoperative results, we verified that for the 3 indices, over 75% of the patients with pectus excavatum were above the cut points and were confirmed as having the defect. In the postoperative results, the value of the indices found below the cut point was considered within the normal standard, and this occurred in 100% for the AI, in over 50% for the HI, and in 50% for the LVI. CONCLUSIONS: The AI allowed adequate measurement of the defect, maintaining a) a high correlation with the HI and the LVI and a high accuracy, similar to the already acknowledged and published indices and b) an efficient comparison between the preoperative measurement and the postoperative results.

BackgroundMost patients with unilateral diaphragm paralysis (UDP) have unexplained dyspnea, exercise limitations, and reduction in inspiratory muscle capacity. We aimed to evaluate the generation of pressure in each hemidiaphragm separately and its contribution to overall inspiratory strength.MethodsTwenty-seven patients, 9 in right paralysis group (RP) and 18 in left paralysis group (LP), with forced vital capacity (FVC) < 80% pred, and 20 healthy controls (CG), with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) > 80% pred and FVC > 80% pred, were evaluated for lung function, maximal inspiratory (MIP) and expiratory (MEP) pressure measurements, diaphragm ultrasound, and transdiaphragmatic pressure during magnetic phrenic nerve stimulation (PdiTw).ResultsRP and LP had significant inspiratory muscle weakness compared to controls, detected by MIP (− 57.4 ± 16.9 for RP; − 67.1 ± 28.5 for LP and − 103.1 ± 30.4 cmH2O for CG) and also by PdiTW (5.7 ± 4 for RP; 4.8 ± 2.3 for LP and 15.3 ± 5.7 cmH2O for CG). The PdiTw was reduced even when the non-paralyzed hemidiaphragm was stimulated, mainly due to the low contribution of gastric pressure (around 30%), regardless of whether the paralysis was in the right or left hemidiaphragm. On the other hand, in CG, esophagic and gastric pressures had similar contribution to the overall Pdi (around 50%). Comparing both paralyzed and non-paralyzed hemidiaphragms, the mobility during quiet and deep breathing, and thickness at functional residual capacity (FRC) and total lung capacity (TLC), were significantly reduced in paralyzed hemidiaphragm. In addition, thickness fraction was extremely diminished when contrasted with the non-paralyzed hemidiaphragm.ConclusionsIn symptomatic patients with UDP, global inspiratory strength is reduced not only due to weakness in the paralyzed hemidiaphragm but also to impairment in the pressure generated by the non-paralyzed hemidiaphragm.