Pulmonology Research

KEY FINDING: A warm-up bout of exercise can elicit a phasic ventilatory response to constant work rate exercise in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury.

KEY FINDING: Respiratory diseases, especially pneumonia, are a leading cause of death after SCI and a frequent reason for rehospitalization.

KEY FINDING: MIE therapy led to improvement of atelectasis (collapsed lung) in a cervical SCI patient within one day of starting treatment.

KEY FINDING: Daytime NVS is crucial for patients with advanced ventilatory pump failure to avoid acute on chronic respiratory failure and invasive airway tubes.

KEY FINDING: Respiratory complications are common in patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries between C5 and T5.

KEY FINDING: Intramuscular TI stimulation in the neck region of rats effectively activated the diaphragm and restored ventilation following opioid overdose.

KEY FINDING: Individuals with respiratory complications during initial rehabilitation had shortened survival compared to those without.

KEY FINDING: Persons with SCI/D have greater mortality from pneumonia and influenza compared to the general population with the standardized mortality ratio for pneumonia and influenza for all types of SCI/D calculated approximately 40.2,3

KEY FINDING: The patient, a 5-year-old female with tetraplegia and ventilator dependence, was able to achieve ventilator independence two years after undergoing thoracoscopic intercostal to phrenic nerve transfer.

KEY FINDING: Deficient vitamin D levels were suggestively associated with future chest illness, though with wide confidence limits.