Thigh ultrasound monitoring identifies muscle atrophy in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients.

Over the last decade, ultrasonography has taken on an increasingly important role in the daily management of critically patients and has recently been proposed as a means of measuring muscle volume and architecture. This study had two main aims: to monitor for the onset of muscle atrophy in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients during stays in a pediatric intensive care unit based on quadriceps femoris muscle thickness measurements and to study whether demographic and clinical variables have an impact on muscle loss in critically children. The study followed a prospective, observational, single-center design.

Ultrasound assessment of ventilator-induced diaphragmatic dysfunction in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients.

Introduction: Ultrasonography has recently emerged as a promising technique that can rapidly estimate diaphragm function, especially during the weaning period. The aims of this study were to describe the evolution of diaphragmatic morphology and functional measurements by ultrasound in ventilated children.

Material And Methods: This was a prospective, observational, single-center study.