Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Nov 20;184(1):35.
doi: 10.1007/s00431-024-05852-5.

Ultrasound and shear wave elastography assessment of diaphragm thickness and stiffness in malnourished pediatric patients

M Selçuk Sinanoğlu  1 , Şükrü Güngör  2 , Nurullah Dağ  3 , Fatma İlknur Varol  4 , Şenay Kenç  5 , Emre Gök  4
Affiliations

Ultrasound and shear wave elastography assessment of diaphragm thickness and stiffness in malnourished pediatric patients

M Selçuk Sinanoğlu et al. Eur J Pediatr. .

Abstract

Our objective was to obtain information about diaphragm muscle mass, strength, and quality using conventional US and US-based imaging method shear wave elastography (SWE) in pediatric patients with primary malnutrition. We also sought to evaluate the usability of SWE in the diagnosis and follow-up of sarcopenia. We evaluated the diaphragm thickness and stiffness of patients diagnosed with primary malnutrition in the pediatrics and pediatric gastroenterology outpatient clinic using US and US-based SWE. The data were compared with those of an age- and gender-matched healthy control group. The study included 115 volunteers. Of the cases included, 53 were healthy controls and 62 (54%) were patients with primary malnutrition. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of age and gender (p = 0.891 and p = 0.923, respectively). The malnourished patient group had significantly lower diaphragm thickness and stiffness. There is a significant positive correlation between anthropometric measurement Z scores and diaphragm thickness and stiffness.

Conclusion: Our study indicated that there was a reduction in the thickness of the diaphragm and a decline in its stiffness, which could be an indirect indicator of the quality and strength of the diaphragm muscle. These findings suggest that US and SWE evaluation of the diaphragm muscle may have the potential for use in the diagnosis and follow-up of sarcopenia. However, further comprehensive randomized controlled studies are needed to confirm this.

What is known: • Magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry are commonly used in the evaluation of sarcopenia. • The psoas and paraspinal muscles are commonly used in the evaluation of sarcopenia.

What is new: • Ultrasound and shear wave elastography can be used in the evaluation of pediatric sarcopenia. • Diaphragm muscle can be used in the evaluation of pediatric sarcopenia.

Keywords: Children; Elastography; Malnutrition; Sarcopenia; Ultrasound.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval: All authors approved the final version of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

References

    1. Ooi PH, Thompson-Hodgetts S, Pritchard-Wiart L, Gilmour SM, Mager DR (2020) Pediatric sarcopenia: a paradigm in the overall definition of malnutrition in children? JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr 44(3):407–418. https://doi.org/10.1002/jpen.1681 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Bahat G, Bauer J et al (2019) Writing group for the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 (EWGSOP2), and the extended group for EWGSOP2. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing. 48(1):16–31. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afy169 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Juby AG, Mager DR (2019) A review of nutrition screening tools used to assess the malnutrition-sarcopenia syndrome (MSS) in the older adult. Clin Nutr ESPEN 32:8–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnesp.2019.04.003 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Baeyens JP, Bauer JM et al (2010) Sarcopenia: European consensus on definition and diagnosis: report of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. Age Ageing 39(4):412–423 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Weijs PJ, Looijaard WG, Dekker IM, Stapel SN, Girbes AR, Oudemans-van Straaten HM, Beishuizen A (2014) Low skeletal muscle area is a risk factor for mortality in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients. Crit Care 18(2):R12. https://doi.org/10.1186/cc13189 - DOI - PubMed - PMC

LinkOut - more resources