Impact of the research: Although bilateral phrenic nerve stimulation did not increase the proportion of successful weaning from mechanical ventilation compared to the standard of care, it resulted in substantial improvements in inspiratory pressure generation capacity without major safety issues. In the absence of previous clinical data, these findings suggest that diaphragm pacing could be effective in mitigating diaphragm dysfunction in patients difficult to wean from mechanical ventilation. Author contributions:The academic authors (MD, MGDA, TS) wrote the first draft of the manuscript and verified the underlying data. All authors critically reviewed and approved the manuscript and are accountable its accuracy and integrity. Dr Martin Dres had full access to all the data in the study and takes full responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Teresa Nelson conducted and is responsible for the data analysis. Support:The study was funded by Lungpacer Medical Inc, PA, USA.

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HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

Promoting regional anesthesia/analgesia in ICU surgical/trauma patients could undoubtedly limit the risk of complications, ICU/hospital stay, and improve patient's outcome. The use of regional anesthesia permits a high doses opioid use limitation which is mandatory and should be considered as feasible and well tolerated in ICU.