Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28703496›Full record

SynthesisJournal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle2017

The reliability and validity of ultrasound to quantify muscles in older adults: a systematic review.

Willemke Nijholt, Aldo Scafoglieri, Harriët Jager-Wittenaar, Johannes S M Hobbelen, Cees P van der Schans

3 registry-linked trialsOpen access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 247 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
247citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
16.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04780126 unknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2021, after this paper: background citation

Measuring the Loss of Skeletal Muscle Mass in the Hospitalized Patient With the Diagnosis of COVID-19

Typeobservational_patient_registrySponsorFundacion para la Investigacion Biomedica del Hospital Universitario la PazRan2021 to 2021Enrolled64ConditionsSarcopenia, Covid19ArmsSarcopenia diagnosis
NCT05831592 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

Evaluation of the Validity and Reliability of Muscle Ultrasound in the Detection of Undernutrition

TypeinterventionalSponsorHopital ForcillesRan2023 to 2025Enrolled118ConditionsUndernutritionArmsMuscle ultrasound
NCT07724483 recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Ultrasonographic Evaluation and Pedobarographic Correlation of Lower Extremity Muscles in Lipedema Patients

Typeobservational_patient_registrySponsorMarmara UniversityRan2026 to 2026Enrolled90ConditionsLipedema
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

247 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 426 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The role of ultrasound of the quadriceps femoris in people with cystic fibrosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Jornal brasileiro de pneumologia : publicacao oficial da Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisilogia · 2026
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  19. Bedside ultrasound imaging to measure muscle cross-sectional area in preterm and term infants: a feasibility study.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026
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187 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Willemke NijholtResearch Group Healthy Ageing, Allied Health Care and Nursing, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Aldo ScafoglieriFaculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
Harriët Jager-WittenaarResearch Group Healthy Ageing, Allied Health Care and Nursing, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Johannes S M HobbelenResearch Group Healthy Ageing, Allied Health Care and Nursing, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Cees P van der SchansResearch Group Healthy Ageing, Allied Health Care and Nursing, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands.
University of Groningen · NLUniversity Medical Center Groningen · NLVrije Universiteit Brussel · BE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This review evaluates the reliability and validity of ultrasound to quantify muscles in older adults. The databases PubMed, Cochrane, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature were systematically searched for studies. In 17 studies, the reliability (n = 13) and validity (n = 8) of ultrasound to quantify muscles in community-dwelling older adults (≥60 years) or a clinical population were evaluated. Four out of 13 reliability studies investigated both intra-rater and inter-rater reliability. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) scores for reliability ranged from -0.26 to 1.00. The highest ICC scores were found for the vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, upper arm anterior, and the trunk (ICC = 0.72 to 1.000). All included validity studies found ICC scores ranging from 0.92 to 0.999. Two studies describing the validity of ultrasound to predict lean body mass showed good validity as compared with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (r

Indexed as

UltrasonographyAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsBody CompositionHumansMuscle, SkeletalOrgan SizeReproducibility of ResultsSarcopeniaBody compositionMusclesMuscular atrophySarcopeniaUltrasonography

Identifiers

PMID28703496
PMCPMC5659048
OpenAlexW2742768059

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.