• Greet Hermans, Beatrickx Clerckx, Tine Vanhullebusch, Johan Segers, Goele Vanpee, Christophe Robbeets, Michael Paul Casaer, Pieter Wouters, Rik Gosselink, and Greet Van Den Berghe.
• Medical Intensive Care Unit, Department of General Internal Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Herestraat 49, B3000 Leuven, Belgium. greet.hermans@uz.kuleuven.be
• Muscle Nerve. 2012 Jan 1;45(1):18-25.

IntroductionMuscle weakness often complicates critical illness and is associated with devastating short- and long-term consequences. For interventional studies, reliable measurements of muscle force in the intensive care unit (ICU) are needed.MethodsTo examine interobserver agreement, two observers independently measured Medical Research Council (MRC) sum-score (n = 75) and handgrip strength (n = 46) in a cross-sectional ICU sample.ResultsThe intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for MRC sum-score was 0.95 (0.92-0.97). The kappa coefficient for identifying "significant weakness" (MRC sum-score <48, MRC subtotal upper limbs <24) and "severe weakness" (MRC sum-score <36) was 0.68 ± 0.09, 0.88 ± 0.07, and 0.93 ± 0.07, respectively. The ICC for left and right handgrip strength was 0.97 (0.94-0.98) and 0.93 (0.86-0.97), respectively.ConclusionsInterobserver agreement on MRC sum-score and handgrip strength in the ICU was very good. Agreement on "severe weakness" (MRC sum-score <36) was excellent and supports its use in interventional studies. Agreement on "significant weakness" (MRC sum-score <48) was good, but even better using the equivalent cut-off in the upper limbs. It remains to be determined whether this may serve as a substitute.Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

12 keywords...

hide…