Acute muscle loss in elderly hospitalized patients: Risk factors and adverse clinical outcomes

Objective: To assess muscle loss via ultrasound in the elderly and its link to clinical outcomes and risk factors.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study assessed muscle loss in hospitalized elderly via ultrasound, comparing bilateral anterior thigh thickness (BATT) at admission and after seven days, exploring its relation to hospital-acquired complications (HACs).

Results: In 86 patients (mean age 83.6), a 4.2% BATT decline over a week was seen, with 39.5% losing more than 10%. BATT changes correlated with HACs, with a -10% change as a predictive threshold. Risk factors for severe muscle loss in elderly hospitalized patients include female gender, higher baseline nutrition risk screening 2002 (NRS2002) scores and higher level of coefficient of variation of red blood cell distribution width (RDW-CV).

Conclusions: Elderly hospitalized patients were at risk of acute muscle loss during their hospital stay. Severe BATT decline during hospitalization in elderly patients was independently associated with HACs.