The link between transdiaphragmatic pressure (TDP) and diaphragmatic thickening fraction (DTF) is a gold standard method for assessing diaphragmatic function that is not clearly established.
A team of French researchers and clinicians, including researchers from the Institute of Myology, analyzed the global and intra-individual link between these two criteria during a study including 14 healthy subjects and 25 mechanically ventilated patients. The authors hypothesized that DTF would be positively and significantly correlated with TDP in both healthy participants and ventilated patients.
The results showed that changes in TDP and diaphragm thickening fraction were moderately correlated in healthy subjects and weakly correlated in mechanically ventilated patients.
The authors conclude that overall, since diaphragm function as assessed with TDP is weakly related to DTF, DTF should not be used in healthy subjects or ventilated patients when changes in diaphragm function are evaluated.
