Neuromuscular ultrasound in patients with and without ICU-acquired weakness

Intensive Care Unit-acquired weakness (ICU-AW), a frequently occurring complication of critical illness. Ultrasound examination of the neuromuscular system has been shown to improve diagnostic accuracy in various neuromuscular diseases. However, diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound examination for ICU-AW has not been investigated.

The aim of this study is to evaluate whether neuromuscular ultrasound discriminates between patients with and without ICU-AW.
In this prospective cross-sectional survey, adult patients admitted to the ICU of the Academic Medical Center, who require mechanical ventilation for at least two days, will be included. The presence of ICU-AW will be assessed by the attending physiotherapist, using the Medical Research Council score. Thereafter, an extensive neuromuscular ultrasound examination will be performed.

The main study endpoint is the difference in gray-scale value, as measures of echointensity, on standardized cross-sectional ultrasonographic views of five muscle groups in patients with ICU-AW and patients without ICU-AW.

Neuromuscular ultrasound can discriminate between patients with and without ICU-AW

Single timepoint for neuromuscular ultrasound just after valid muscle strength assessment

Muscle strength will be investigated by the attending physiotherapist, using the Medical Research Council (MRC) sumscore to assess the presence of ICU-AW.
Next, blinded to the strength evaluation, neuromuscular ultrasound examination will be performed.