Evaluating a Muscle Ultrasound Education Program: Theoretical Knowledge, Hands-on Skills, Reliability, and Satisfaction of Critical Care Physiotherapists.
Felipe González-Seguel, Juan José Pinto-Concha, Francisco Ríos-Castro and 4 others
PMID 34589692WHAT IT FOUND
Nineteen ICU physiotherapists completed a muscle ultrasound course.
They scored high on theory and hands-on skills, but their measurement reliability varied widely. Thickness was moderate to excellent, while pennation angle reliability was absent to poor, so results may not yet be trustworthy.
Key findings
01Theoretical knowledge scores increased from 69.0% before the course to 88.9% after, and practical skills scored 91.5%.
02Participants' measurement reliability was moderate to excellent for muscle thickness but absent to poor for pennation angle.
03Instructors had higher reliability than participants, particularly for quadriceps thickness, though even they struggled with pennation angle.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The reliability of measurements was tested on healthy individuals, not ICU patients, so the results may not apply to clinical practice. The study was small, with only 19 participants, and did not include a control group or long-term follow-up. The course was led by instructors who were not certified experts, which may have affected the reliability results. The study did not measure whether the skills learned were actually used in patient care.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest or funding sources were reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that completing a similar course means you can reliably measure muscle architecture in ICU patients. The study found poor reliability for pennation angle and tested only on healthy volunteers, not patients.