Pediatric Diaphragm Thickness Trial

The evaluation of diaphragm function in ventilated patients is not easy. One option is to use esophageal pressure (Pes) measurements but recently, diaphragmatic ultrasound has proven itself as a useful tool in this setting. In adults the thickening fraction (TF), which describes the difference in thickness between end-inspiration and end-expiration, correlates with the diaphragmatic pressure-time product per breath (PTPdi), an esophageal pressure-derived work of breathing parameter. There is a lack of data that tells us whether the same is true in children. This physiological study intends to look at the correlation between esophageal pressures and thickening fraction assessed by ultrasound in a pediatric cohort of patients.