CORRELATION BETWEEN DIAPHRAGM EXCURSION WITH BOTH THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND EXERCISE CAPACITY FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE STUDIED BY ULTRASOUND

Objective: To study the correlation between diaphragm excursion and both the quality of life and exercise capacity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by ultrasound and to reveal the factors affecting diaphragm excursion. Methods: A total of 42 COPD patients who were treated in our hospital from October 2015 to March 2020 and 42 healthy volunteers (control group) were included in the present study. The participants’ height, weight, and diaphragm excursion (the amplitude of diaphragm movement during deep breathing measured by M-mode ultrasound ( Δ M )), diaphragm movement time, degree of airflow obstruction (the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) as a percentage of its predicted level, FEV1%pred), and exercise capacity (six-minute walk distance, 6MWD) were measured. The St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) was used to evaluate the patients’ quality of life. The correlation between the amplitude of diaphragm movement and lung function was analyzed. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was used to determine the COPD diagnosis efficacy of M-mode ultrasound, and its influencing factors were further analyzed. Results: During tidal breathing, the movement amplitudes of both hemidiaphragms in the COPD group were greater than those in the control group. During deep breathing, the movement amplitudes of both hemidiaphragms in the control group were greater than those in the COPD group. Moreover, during both tidal and deep breathing, the movement time of the right hemidiaphragm in the control group was longer than that in the COPD group (all P