Pulmonary Function in Convalescent Poliomyelitic Patients

Abstract

THE severe poliomyelitis epidemics of recent years and the increasing success of treatment during the acute stages of respiratory failure have emphasized the need for more knowledge of the changes in pulmonary function during recovery from respiratory-muscle involvement. Such information would be of value in estimating a patient's progress, in formulating prognosis, and in assessing the effects of therapeutic procedures and the need for respiratory appliances.The degree of respiratory impairment in the acute phase of poliomyelitis varies markedly from patient to patient, and in convalescence all degrees of recovery occur (as in other types of neuromuscular paralysis). In the . . .