Ultrasound Evaluation of the Rectus Femoris for Sarcopenia in Patients with Early Subacute Stroke

Abstract

We investigated the ultrasound characteristics of the rectus femoris for sarcopenia detected by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in the early subacute stroke phase. Physical features (age, sex, body mass index, and circumference of thigh) and performances (modified Barthel index in Korean, functional ambulation categories, and mini-mental state examination in Korean) were measured. The thickness of the fat layer, the thickness of the rectus femoris (TRF), echo intensity (EI), EI to TRF ratio, and strain ratio of elastography (SRE) were measured by ultrasound in 30 patients with first-ever stroke (male: n = 20). Appendicular lean body mass was measured by DEXA. Sarcopenia was defined according to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health Sarcopenia Project. In total, 14 patients were in the sarcopenia group, and 16 were in the non-sarcopenia group. Clinical characteristics were similar between the two groups. In the sarcopenia group, TRF was significantly decreased in the paretic (p < 0.026) and non-paretic sides (p < 0.01), and the EI to TRF ratio on the paretic side was significantly increased (p < 0.049). Multivariate binary logistic regression showed that TRF on the non-paretic side was independently and significantly associated with sarcopenia (OR = 0.616, 95% CI: 0.381–0.996). The EI and SRE were not significant between the two groups. In the early subacute stroke phase, TRF on the non-paretic side is a key factor for quantitative evaluation of sarcopenia, and the EI to TRF ratio on the paretic side is also a meaningful qualitative evaluation of sarcopenia.