Article

Implanted phrenic nerve stimulation is a technique restoring spontaneous
breathing in patients with respiratory control failure, leading to being
dependent on mechanical ventilation. This is the case for quadriplegic patients
with a high spinal cord injury level and for patients with congenital central
hypoventilation syndrome. The electrophysiological diaphragm explorations permits
better patient selection, confirming on the one hand a definite issue with
central respiratory command and on the other hand the integrity of diaphragmatic
phrenic nerves. Today there are two different phrenic stimulation techniques: the
quadripolar intrathoracic stimulation and the bipolar intradiaphragmatic
stimulation. Both techniques allow patients to be weaned off their mechanical
ventilator, improving dramatically their quality of life. In fact, one of the
systems (phrenic intradiaphragmatic stimulation) was granted social security
reimbursement in 2009, and now both are reimbursed. In the future, phrenic
intradiaphragmatic stimulation may find its place in the intensive care unit, for
patients needing it temporarily, for example, after certain surgeries with
respiratory complications as well as diaphragmatic atrophies induced by prolonged
mechanical ventilation.
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Langue : ANGLAIS