A patient with bilateral diaphragmatic paralysis will often show a restrictive pattern in pulmonary function testing (PFT).
Key findings in the pulmonary function tests:
(1) reduction in vital capacity as percent of predicted
(2) further decline in vital capacity when supine
(3) abnormal maximum inspiratory pressure in cm H2O (often -10 to -20)
Clinical manifestations:
(1) dyspnea if immersed in water (difficulty in dealing with hydrostatic pressure)
(2) sleep apnea with nocturnal hypoxia and hypercapnia
Additional PFT changes:
(1) reduction in FEV1 as percent of predicted
(2) reduction in total lung capacity as percent of predicted
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Specialty: Pulmonology, Neurology
