Incidence and clinical significance of hemidiaphragmatic paresis in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy during cervical plexus block anesthesia.

This study was designed to investigate the incidence and clinical consequences of hemidiaphragmatic paresis in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy using cervical plexus block anesthesia. In 28 patients, diaphragmatic motion was evaluated by fluoroscopy 20 min after cervical plexus block with 1% mepivacaine. In 61% of the patients abnormalities of diaphragmatic motion were detected. These motion anomalies were associated with a statistically significant elevation of PaCO2. Gender, age, and whether the block was on the left or right side did not appear to affect the incidence of motion abnormalities after cervical plexus block anesthesia.