Breathing-synchronised electrical stimulation of the abdominal muscles in patients with acute tetraplegia: A prospective proof-of-concept study

This study investigates whether using electrical stimulation to help patients with tetraplegia breathe and cough can reduce lung complications like pneumonia. The treatment involves synchronizing electrical stimulation of the abdominal muscles with the patient's breathing to improve their ability to exhale and clear their airways. The study found that this approach, called abdominal functional electrical stimulation (AFES), appears to improve breathing and prevent pneumonia in the early stages of tetraplegia.

• 1
  AFES led to a statistically significant increase in peak inspiratory and expiratory flows.
• 2
  A non-statistically significant increase in tidal volume and inspiratory and expiratory flow was observed with AFES.
• 3
  67% of patients reported a significant improvement in breathing and coughing with the stimulation procedure.