Muscle wasting in intensive care patients: Ultrasound observation of the M. quadriceps femoris muscle layer
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: Patients in intensive care exhibit a high degree of loss of muscle mass. Appropriate instruments are needed to document muscle wasting in these patients. The aim of this pilot study was to describe muscle wasting in patients in the intensive care unit. DESIGN: Two-fold study setting: prospective longitudinal and cross-sectional single-blind. PATIENTS: A total of 118 patients in the intensive care unit (length of stay 1-98 days; male:female ratio 88:30; age 55 +/- 17 years) were included in a two-fold study setting. METHODS: Muscle layer thickness of the M. quadriceps femoris was documented using ultrasound measurement at well-defined points. Seventeen pilot-patients were measured twice; at baseline and after 28 days. In another group of 101 patients, muscle layer thickness was determined once after a random length of stay. The results of both groups were compared and correlated. RESULTS: In both groups, M. quadriceps femoris thickness showed a significant negative correlation with length of stay in the intensive care unit (p < 0.01). Furthermore, muscle wasting in intensive care patients could be described using a logarithmic function. CONCLUSION: Loss of muscle mass shows a negative correlation with length of stay, and seems to be higher during the first 2-3 weeks of immobilization/intensive care unit stay. Ultrasound is a valid and practical measurement tool for documenting muscle mass (e.g. muscle layer thickness) as part of the daily routine at an intensive care unit.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
This finding is in general agreement with clinical and spaceflight-induced atrophy, but in contrast to Mulder et al., who demonstrated linear decline of quadriceps femoris CSA during 56 days of bed rest.
“This finding is in general agreement with clinical (75) and spaceflight induced atrophy, which was reported by Edgerton et al. (76) and LeBlanc et al. (77) but is in contrast to Mulder et al. (5), who demonstrated linear decline of quadriceps femoris CSA during 56 days of bed rest.”
From Nonuniform loss of muscle strength and atrophy during bed rest: a systematic review (2021) · cites this paper as [75]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Gibson, J. N. A., Smith, K., & Rennie, M. J. (1988) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(88)92417-8 · Cited by 270 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Spruit, M. A., Singh, S. J., Garvey, C., ZuWallack, R., Nici, L., Rochester, C., Hill, K., Holland, A. E., Lareau, S. C., Man, W. D.-C., et al. (2013) · American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine · doi:10.1164/rccm.201309-1634st · Cited by 3,938 · see citing works
Early exercise in critically ill patients enhances short-term functional recovery*
Burtin, C., Clerckx, B., Robbeets, C., Ferdinande, P., Langer, D., Troosters, T., Hermans, G., Decramer, M., & Gosselink, R. (2009) · Critical Care Medicine · doi:10.1097/ccm.0b013e3181a38937 · Cited by 1,032 · see citing works
Mason, D. P., Thuita, L., Nowicki, E. R., Murthy, S. C., Pettersson, G. B., & Blackstone, E. H. (2010) · The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery · doi:10.1016/j.jtcvs.2009.09.031 · Cited by 232 · see citing works
Nonuniform loss of muscle strength and atrophy during bed rest: a systematic review
Marusic, U., Narici, M., Simunic, B., Pisot, R., & Ritzmann, R. (2021) · Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00363.2020 · Cited by 185 · see citing works
Current Concepts and Unresolved Questions in Dietary Protein Requirements and Supplements in Adults
Phillips, S. M. (2017) · Frontiers in Nutrition · doi:10.3389/fnut.2017.00013 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Batterham, A. M., Bonner, S., Wright, J., Howell, S. J., Hugill, K., & Danjoux, G. (2014) · British Journal of Anaesthesia · doi:10.1093/bja/aeu051 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Gruther, W., Pieber, K., Steiner, I., Hein, C., Hiesmayr, J. M., & Paternostro-Sluga, T. (2017) · American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation · doi:10.1097/phm.0000000000000718 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Self-citationEr, B., Simsek, M., Yildirim, M., Halacli, B., Ocal, S., Ersoy, E. O., Demir, A. U., & Topeli, A. (2021) · Respiratory Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.rmed.2021.106503 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
- Authors
- Gruther, W., Benesch, T., Zorn, C., Paternostro-Sluga, T., Quittan, M., Fialka-Moser, V, Spiss, C., Kainberger, F., & Crevenna, R.
- Affiliations
- Medical University of Vienna (AT)
- Venue
- Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine
- Published
- 2008
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 185-189
- ISSN
- 0001-5555 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2055499007
- Cited by
- 377
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 35 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 12
- FWCI
- 4.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Acta Dermato Venereologica (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine › Intensive Care Unit Cognitive Disorders
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Clinical Nutrition and Gastroenterology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nutrition and Health in Aging
- Keywords
- muscle atrophy, intensive care unit patients, quadriceps, ultrasonic measurement, length of hospital stay, immobilization, muscle mass loss, critical illness
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Intensive Care Units, Length of Stay, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Pilot Projects, Prospective Studies, Ultrasonography, Wasting Syndrome, Quadriceps Muscle
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
