Figure 5
From: Diaphragm weakness in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients
Relationship of diaphragm strength to survival. (A) Survival of patients (days after measurement, x axis) as a function of transdiaphragmatic twitch pressure (PdiTw) level (y axis). Patients that died had low average PdiTw levels (6.3 ± 0.6 cmH2O) while survivors had higher PdiTw levels (8.9 ± 0.9 cmH2O, P = 0.044). (B) Survival curves for subjects with PdiTw ≥10 cmH2O (n = 15) and PdiTw <10 cmH2O (n = 42). Weak subjects had a significantly higher mortality (49%) than strong subjects (7%, P = 0.022). To exclude the possibility that the greater mortality in the weakest patients may have been due to the presence of more severe lung dysfunction, we also examined (C) respiratory system (RS) static compliance and (D) airway resistance. There was no significant difference in RS static compliance or airway resistance for patients with PdiTw ≥10 cmH2O and PdiTw <10 cmH2O, indicating that the greater mortality ion the weakest patients was not due to concomitant lung dysfunction.