title: Association of the Adductor Pollicis Muscle Thickness With Clinical Outcomes in Intensive Care Unit Patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Different parameters may be used to evaluate the nutrition status of individuals. However, their use in the critically ill is problematic, since the interference of acute disease or therapeutic measures on their results can affect their interpretation. The aim of this study was to assess whether measuring the adductor pollicis muscle is useful in identifying malnutrition and clinical outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU).
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 127 patients were enrolled in this prospective observational study. Serum albumin levels, anthropometrics, adductor pollicis muscle (APM) thickness, and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score were measured for each patient upon admission. APM thickness (APMT) was measured while the patient's elbow was flexed at a 90-degree angle and the forearm resting on the patient's torso.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The dominant and nondominant APMT were significantly correlated with all anthropometric measurements (r = 0.41-0.68, P < .001 and r = 0.42-0.66, P < .001 respectively). Multivariate regression analysis adjusted by other risk factors, including APACHE II score, serum albumin, and age, showed that among all anthropometric variables, the APMT has the highest correlation with mortality (odds ratio [OR], 5.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.02-0.12; P < .001), length of stay >10 days (OR, 11.3; 95% CI, 4.42-29.1; P < .001), and organ failure (OR, 14.5; 95% CI, 6.5-38.4; P < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results showed that APMT is a low-cost, reliable, and easy method to assess nutrition status and to predict the patient's outcomes in the ICU.
authors: National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Sima
authors: S
authors: Ghorabi
authors: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Shohada Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Hossein
authors: H
authors: Ardehali
authors: Department of Biostatistics National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Zohreh
authors: Z
authors: Amiri
authors: National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran nutritiondata@yahoo.com.
authors: Zahra
authors: Z
authors: Vahdat Shariatpanahi
mesh_terms: D018806:APACHE; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods; D001132:Arm; D001837:Body Weights and Measures / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003422:Critical Care; D016638:Critical Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology*; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012709:Serum Albumin
chemical_list: D012709:Serum Albumin
keywords: anthropometry; critically ill patient; intensive care unit; malnutrition; nutrition assessment