Journal
JOURNAL OF REHABILITATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Volume 51, Issue 7, Pages 1155-1164Publisher
JOURNAL REHAB RES & DEV
DOI: 10.1682/JRRD.2013.08.0187
Keywords
COPD; critical illness myopathy; critical illness neuropathy; human muscle; intensive care unit; probe configuration; quadriceps femoris; reproducibility; sarcopenia; ultrasound imaging
Categories
Funding
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Rehabilitation Research and Development Service grant [F6955R]
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Research Career Scientist Award [F7338S]
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Muscle-mass loss augers increased morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Muscle-mass loss can be assessed by wide linear-array ultrasound transducers connected to cumbersome, expensive console units. Whether cheaper, handcarried units equipped with curved-array transducers can be used as alternatives is unknown. Accordingly, our primary aim was to investigate in 15 nondisabled subjects the validity of measurements of rectus femoris cross-sectional area by using a curved-array transducer against a linear-array transducer-the reference-standard technique. In these subjects, we also determined the reliability of measurements obtained by a novice operator versus measurements obtained by an experienced operator. Lastly, the relationship between quadriceps strength and rectus area recorded by two experienced operators with a curved-array transducer was assessed in 17 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In nondisabled subjects, the rectus cross-sectional area measured with the curved-array transducer by the novice and experienced operators was valid (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]: 0.98, typical percentage error [% TE]: 3.7%) and reliable (ICC: 0.79, % TE: 9.7%). In the subjects with COPD, both reliability (ICC: 0.99) and repeatability (% TE: 7.6% and 9.8%) were high. Rectus area was related to quadriceps strength in COPD for both experienced operators (coefficient of determination: 0.67 and 0.70). In conclusion, measurements of rectus femoris cross-sectional area recorded with a curved-array transducer connected to a hand-carried unit are valid, reliable, and reproducible, leading us to contend that this technique is suitable for cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.
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