Muscle Evaluation by Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Muscular Weakness Acquired in the Intensive Care Unit

Patients hospitalized in an intensive care setting are considered critical patients. Thus, they are often dependent on resources for maintaining life that make it impossible for the individual to move, leading to muscle loss. This loss already occurs in the first days of hospitalization and takes a longer recovery time, even after hospital discharge. That is why it is relevant to study methods of monitoring and diagnosing muscle weakness acquired in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The objective of this study is to perform a bibliometric study to verify the protocols and parameters used by portable ultrasonography (US) in the evaluation of loss of muscle mass in individuals admitted to the intensive care setting. A bibliometric study was carried out in which 22 articles formed the research portfolio. The results showed that most of the studies were intervention (with different protocols for applying the US). We also found that ultrasound has been compared to other diagnostic methods, obtaining the best correlation with biopsy. For the diagnosis, the musculature of the lower limbs is recommended, mainly the rectus femoris muscle, for being more likely to atrophy due to disuse. In addition to the US, other methods of monitoring muscle loss were used, such as dynamometry and the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale, but these are restricted to being applied only to awake patients who can understand instructions. As a conclusion, the use of ultrasound is identified as a safe method with good intraobserver and interobserver reliability and that there is a gap regarding the therapeutic intervention for the treatment of muscle weakness acquired in the ICU.