Peak cough flow and diaphragmatic excursion during coughing in stroke patients with tracheostomy: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Although peak cough flow (PCF) is a critical indicator for tracheostomized stroke patients, it remains unclear whether diaphragmatic excursion during reflex cough, as the primary driver of inspiration, can predict PCF. OBJECTIVE: To explore whether the diaphragmatic excursion during reflex coughing can predict PCF in stroke patients with tracheostomy. METHODS: A total of 57 stroke patients were included in the study. The diaphragm excursion and PCF were measured and a simple linear regression was used to analyze the relationship between them. T-test, Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze the influencing factors of PCF, and multiple linear regression was used to construct a regression model. RESULTS: = 0.257). CONCLUSIONS: Diaphragmatic excursion during coughing was correlated with PCF. Furthermore, the type of paresis in stroke patients was identified as a significant factor affecting PCF. Our study established the preliminary diaphragmatic excursion-adjusted type of paresis equation as a predictor for estimating PCF in patients with stroke who underwent tracheostomy. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: ChiCTR2200063174.