JPEN. Journal of parenteral and enteral nutrition
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JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr · Sep 2017
ReviewSkeletal Muscle Ultrasonography in Nutrition and Functional Outcome Assessment of Critically Ill Children: Experience and Insights From Pediatric Disease and Adult Critical Care Studies [Formula: see text].
Evidence suggests that critically ill children develop muscle wasting, which could affect outcomes. Muscle ultrasound has been used to track muscle wasting and association with outcomes in critically ill adults but not children. This review aims to summarize methodological considerations of muscle ultrasound, structural findings, and possibilities for its application in the assessment of nutrition and functional outcomes in critically ill children. ⋯ Echogenicity, used to detect compromised muscle structure in neuromuscular disease, may be another property worth studying in critically ill children. Muscle ultrasound may be useful in detecting muscle wasting in critically ill children but has not been shown to be sufficiently reliable in this population. Further study of the reliability and correlation with functional outcomes and nutrition intake is required before muscle ultrasound is routinely employed in critically ill children.