Long-term Use Of Mechanical Ventilation Contributes To The Deterioration Of Human Diaphragm Muscle

A new study by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine shows, for the first time in humans, that ventilators combined with diaphragm disuse contributes to muscle atrophy in the diaphragm in as little as eighteen hours. Muscle atrophy in the diaphragm is a major contributor of why patients who have undergone prolonged mechanical ventilation often have difficulty breathing after being removed from the ventilator.

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Filed under: Respiratory on April 2nd, 2008