ArticleRMD open2023
Ultrasound assessment of degenerative muscle sarcopenia: the University of Barcelona ultrasound scoring system for sarcopenia.
Article in RMD open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ultrasound evaluation of muscle quality in rheumatoid arthritis: a reliability study of the Spanish Ultrasound Muscle Assessment in Rheumatoid Arthritis (SpUMAR) score.Arthritis research & therapy · 2026Article
- Intramuscular Fat as a Biomarker of Muscle Health: Strengths, Limitations and Open Challenges.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Review
- Ultrasound Beyond Joints: A Review of Extra-Articular Applications in Rheumatology.Current rheumatology reports · 2025Review
- Myosteatosis: diagnostic significance and assessment by imaging approaches.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
9 authors at 7 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimThis study aimed to (1) determine the intraobserver and interobserver reliability of ultrasonographic measurement of muscle thickness (MT) and cross-sectional area (CSA) of the rectus femoris and biceps brachii, correlating these values with manual measurements on dissected cadavers and (2) develop the first semiquantitative musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) scoring system of muscle morphology in sarcopenia and assess its intraobserver and interobserver reliability. In addition, the MSUS morphology score was compared with the corresponding histological images to verify concurrent validity.
methodsTen cryopreserved limbs of 10 cadavers aged 68-91 years were evaluated. The MSUS scoring system was based on the severity of muscle degeneration on a 3-point qualitative scale: grade 1 (normal), grade 2 (moderate changes) and grade 3 (severe changes). Reliability was assessed with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the MT and CSA and with Cohen's kappa coefficients (κ) for the MSUS scoring system. Concurrent validity was analysed with ICC.
resultsThe results showed excellent intraobserver and interobserver reliability for both the MSUS evaluation of MT and CSA (ICC ≥0.93). The MSUS scoring system showed excellent intraobserver reliability (κ=1.0) and very good interobserver reliability (κ=0.85). There was also a high intra- and inter-observer reliability for the histological scorings (ĸ ≥0.85 and mean ĸ=0.70, respectively), as well as high reliability between the histology and MSUS scoring systems (ICC=0.92). All results were statistically significant (p≤0.001).
conclusionMSUS measures of MT and CSA and the novel MSUS scoring system for degenerative muscle changes in sarcopenia was found to be reliable and strongly associated with histological findings.
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Registered trials
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