Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31729699›Full record

Observational studyJournal of nephrology2020

Validation by CT scan of quadriceps muscle thickness measurement by ultrasound in acute kidney injury.

Alice Sabatino, Giuseppe Regolisti, Francesca di Mario, Andrea Ciuni, Anselmo Palumbo, Francesco Peyronel, Umberto Maggiore, Enrico Fiaccadori

Abstract readObservational Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Journal of nephrology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  6. Appropriate needle insertion depth for trigger point injections of the parascapular region.Turkish journal of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Alice SabatinoUO Nefrologia, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria Parma, Via Gramsci 14, 43126, Parma, Italy.
Giuseppe RegolistiUO Nefrologia, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria Parma, Via Gramsci 14, 43126, Parma, Italy.
Francesca di MarioUO Nefrologia, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria Parma, Via Gramsci 14, 43126, Parma, Italy.
Andrea CiuniRadiologia, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria Parma, Parma, Italy.
Anselmo PalumboRadiologia, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria Parma, Parma, Italy.
Francesco PeyronelUO Nefrologia, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria Parma, Via Gramsci 14, 43126, Parma, Italy.
Umberto MaggioreUO Nefrologia, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria Parma, Via Gramsci 14, 43126, Parma, Italy.
Enrico FiaccadoriUO Nefrologia, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria Parma, Via Gramsci 14, 43126, Parma, Italy. enrico.fiaccadori@unipr.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6532-7675

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAccelerated muscle wasting still represents a major issue in critically ill patients. However, a key problem in the intensive care unit is the lack of adequate tools for bedside evaluation of muscle mass. Moreover, when acute kidney injury (AKI) coexists, fluid overload and/or rapid fluid shifts due to renal replacement therapies that frequently occur and may interfere with muscle mass assessment. The purpose of this study is to validate muscle ultrasound (US) by a gold standard (muscle CT scan) for the assessment of quadriceps muscle thickness in critically ill patients with AKI.

methodsQuadriceps rectus femoris thickness and quadriceps vastus intermedius thickness of critically ill patients with AKI were blindly assessed at the same leg sites by both US and computed tomography (CT) scan. Using bivariate mixed-model linear regression analysis, we estimated, average difference in thickness between measurement sites, agreement (differential and proportional bias) of US compared to CT, and precision of the two methods, and eventually performed Bland-Altman analysis for repeated measurements on pooled results.

resultsWe analyzed 233 couples of measurements (30 patients). Average muscle thickness ranged between 1.0 and 1.6, depending on the measurement site. When comparing US to CT, both the observed differential bias (between + 0.04 and + 0.26 cm depending on the muscle site) and the proportional bias (between 82 and 98% of the reference values, depending on the muscle site) were not statistically significant. However, precision analysis showed that US scan tended to be slightly less precise in comparison to CT. Bland-Altman analysis on pooled results showed that the 95% limits of agreement between the US and CT were narrow, ranging from - 0.34 to + 0.36 cm.

conclusionIn critically ill patients with AKI, quadriceps muscle thickness assessment based on US is unbiased, although it occurs with a minor loss of precision compared to CT.

Indexed as

Tomography, X-Ray ComputedUltrasonographyAcute Kidney InjuryAgedAged, 80 and overCritical IllnessCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMuscular AtrophyQuadriceps MuscleReproducibility of ResultsAcute kidney injuryComputerized tomography scanCritical illnessIntensive care unitMuscle massUltrasound

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Registered trials

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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.