Mixed
Low skeletal muscle mass (sarcopenia) in elderly ICU patients is significantly associated with increased mortality, decreased ventilator-free days, and decreased ICU-free days, whereas traditional nutritional markers like BMI and serum albumin are not predictive of these outcomes.
For elderly trauma patients, standard weight checks (BMI) and blood tests (albumin) are insufficient to assess risk. Measuring skeletal muscle mass via CT scans at admission is critical for identifying high-risk patients who may need aggressive nutritional and rehabilitative support to improve survival and reduce ICU stay.
After controlling for age, sex and injury severity, multiple logistic regression demonstrated that increased muscle index was significantly associated with decreased mortality... multivariate linear regression showed that sarcopenia, but not muscle index, was associated with decreased ventilator-free (P = 0.004) and ICU-free days (P = 0.002). Neither BMI, serum albumin nor total adipose tissue on admission were indicative of survival, ventilator-free or ICU-free days.
Why this rating
Observational cohort study with multivariate adjustment for injury severity, age, and sex; strong statistical significance (P<0.05) for muscle index and sarcopenia categories.
Source
Skeletal muscle predicts ventilator-free days, ICU-free days, and mortality in elderly ICU patients
Lesley L. Moisey et al. · Critical Care · 2013
DOI 10.1186/cc12901
Related findings · Mixed
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