Restoration Methods of Respiratory Function for Spinal Cord Injury

Respiratory dysfunction caused by high spinal cord injury is fatal damage. Three treatment methods commonly used in the clinic, diaphragm pacing, mechanical ventilation, and respiratory muscle training, were chosen to explain the respiratory function reconstruction of spinal cord injury. The characteristics, research status, advantages, and disadvantages of these three treatment methods are reviewed. Diaphragm pacing technology has attracted much attention due to its price-friendly, efficient, and closer to physiological respiration. Therefore, the emphasis is on describing the characteristics of the stimulation waveform of diaphragm pacing and the mathematical correspondence between stimulation parameters (pulse interval, inspiratory time, etc.) and tidal volume. Meanwhile, it also briefly introduces that for patients with SCI with poor diaphragm pacing, intercostal muscle pacing can be used as the second option to restore respiratory function. Also, the development of electronic technology has promoted the emergence of closed-loop diaphragm pacing technology. Finally, we propose that the method of respiratory function reconstruction after spinal cord injury should pay more attention to physiology and the safety of surgery.