• Konstantinos Grigoriadis, Ioannis Efstathiou, Zacharias Dimitriadis, Georgia Konstantopoulou, Anna Grigoriadou, Georgios Vasileiadis, Maria Micha, Iraklis Tsagaris, and Apostolos Armaganidis.
• Konstantinos Grigoriadis is cohead of the Physical Therapy Department, Attikon University Hospital and adjunct academic staff, Faculty of Physiotherapy, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece.
• Am. J. Crit. Care. 2021 Mar 1; 30 (2): e48-e53.

BackgroundThe association between peripheral striated muscle strength and respiratory muscle strength has been confirmed in a number of disorders. However, this association is unknown in intensive care unit patients with tracheostomies.ObjectiveTo examine correlations between handgrip force, maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), and maximum expiratory pressure (MEP) in intensive care unit patients with tracheostomies.MethodsTwenty patients (7 women, 13 men) with tracheostomies, in the intensive care unit longer than 11 days, in stable condition, with functional limbs, and with Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 15 were recruited. Both MIP and MEP were measured with a membrane manometer; handgrip force was measured with a hydraulic hand dynamometer.ResultsHandgrip force was significantly correlated with MIP (r = 0.45, P = .04) and MEP (r = 0.78, P = .001). Handgrip force was significantly predicted by MIP and MEP when the effect of sex was controlled for (P < .05). However, when MIP and MEP were included as predictors in a regression model, MEP was the only significant predictor (R = 0.80, R2 = 0.63, adjusted R2 = 0.57).ConclusionsStrength of the hand flexors and strength of the expiratory muscles (abdominal) were significantly correlated in intensive care unit patients. Handgrip strength appears to be an easy, fast way to evaluate expiratory muscle strength by using a simple handhold command without special equipment. A strong handhold may also correspond to strong expiratory muscles. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03457376.©2021 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

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