• Charline Tourel, Laetitia Burnol, Julien Lanoiselé, Serge Molliex, Magalie Viallon, Pierre Croisille, and Jerome Morel.
• Departement of Anesthesia and Critical care medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint- Etienne, , , France.
• J Rehabil Med. 2020 Mar 18; 52 (3): jrm00032.

ObjectiveMuscle atrophy is frequent in critically ill patients and is associated with increased mortality and long-lasting alteration in quality of life. Muscle ultrasound has not been clearly validated in intensive care unit patients. The aim of this study was to compare the level of agreement between ultrasound and computed tomography scan for the measurement of quadriceps muscle thickness.DesignA prospective observational study.PatientsForty-two consecutive patients admitted to a neurological intensive care unit.MethodsQuadriceps thickness was measured 15 cm above the upper edge of the patella. Iterative brain computed tomography scans were associated with a quadriceps-centred acquisition sequence. Concomitantly, an ultrasound of the quadriceps was performed. The position of the studied leg was standardized for ultrasound and computed tomography.ResultsA total of 73 measurements of ultrasound and computed tomography quadriceps thickness were compared. The correlation between both measures was 0.93 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.84-1.02). Intra-rater reliability of ultrasound measurements and inter-rater reliability were excellent, with an ICC of 0.98 (95% CI 0.97-0.99) and 0.96 (95% CI 0.92-0.98), respectively.ConclusionA specific ultrasound set-up for measurement of quadriceps thickness is reliable and reproducible in an intensive care unit population.

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