Evaluation of Muscle Mass and Stiffness with Limb Ultrasound in COVID-19 Survivors

Frontiers in Endocrinology

Caterina Conte¹  Patrizia Rovere Querini³  Andrea Giustina⁴  Sabina Martinenghi⁵  Emanuele Bosi⁵  Giordano Vitali⁵  Sarah Damanti⁶  Moreno Tresoldi⁶  Marta Cilla⁶  Bruno Tuscano⁷  Chiara Pomaranzi⁸  Giuseppina Manganaro⁸  Valeria Tiraferri⁸  Giacomo Pacioni⁸  Aurora Merolla⁸  Rebecca De Lorenzo⁸ 

[1] Department of Endocrinology, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases, Instituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCSS) MultiMedica, Milan, Italy;Department of Human Sciences and Promotion of the Quality of Life, San Raffaele Roma Open University, Rome, Italy;Department of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases, Instituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCSS) Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy;Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Sciences, San Raffaele Vita-Salute University, Instituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCSS) San Raffaele Hospital, Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy;San Raffaele Diabetes Research Institute, Instituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCSS) Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy;Unit of General Medicine and Advanced Care, Instituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCSS) San Raffaele Institute, Milan, Italy;Unit of Radiology, IRCCS San Raffaele Institute, Milan, Italy;Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy;

关键词: muscle;    ultrasound;    sarcopenia;    COVID - 19;    muscle mass;    muscle quality;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fendo.2022.801133

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Backgroundacute illnesses, like COVID-19, can act as a catabolic stimulus on muscles. So far, no study has evaluated muscle mass and quality through limb ultrasound in post-COVID-19 patients.Methodscross sectional observational study, including patients seen one month after hospital discharge for SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. The patients underwent a multidimensional evaluation. Moreover, we performed dominant medial gastrocnemius ultrasound (US) to characterize their muscle mass and quality.Resultstwo hundred fifty-nine individuals (median age 67, 59.8% males) were included in the study. COVID-19 survivors with reduced muscle strength had a lower muscle US thickness (1.6 versus 1.73 cm, p =0.02) and a higher muscle stiffness (87 versus 76.3, p = 0.004) compared to patients with normal muscle strength. Also, patients with reduced Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) scores had a lower muscle US thickness (1.3 versus 1.71 cm, p = 0.01) and a higher muscle stiffness (104.9 versus 81.07, p = 0.04) compared to individuals with normal SPPB scores. The finding of increased muscle stiffness was also confirmed in patients with a pathological value (≥ 4) at the sarcopenia screening tool SARC-F (103.0 versus 79.55, p < 0.001). Muscle stiffness emerged as a significant predictor of probable sarcopenia (adjusted OR 1.02, 95% C.I. 1.002 – 1.04, p = 0.03). The optimal ultrasound cut-offs for probable sarcopenia were 1.51 cm for muscle thickness (p= 0.017) and 73.95 for muscle stiffness (p = 0.004).Discussionwe described muscle ultrasound characteristics in post COVID-19 patients. Muscle ultrasound could be an innovative tool to assess muscle mass and quality in this population. Our preliminary findings need to be confirmed by future studies comparing muscle ultrasound with already validated techniques for measuring muscle mass and quality.

【 授权许可】

Unknown