Current practice and barriers in the implementation of ultrasound-based assessment of muscle mass in Japan: A nationwide, web-based cross-sectional study

PLoS One. 2022 Nov 3;17(11):e0276855. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276855. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Muscle mass is an important factor for surviving an illness. Ultrasound has gained increased attention as a muscle mass assessment method because of its noninvasiveness and portability. However, data on the frequency of ultrasound-based muscle mass assessment are limited, and there are some barriers to its implementation. Hence, a web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted on healthcare providers in Japan, which comprised four parts: 1) participant characteristics; 2) general muscle mass assessment; 3) ultrasound-based muscle mass assessment; and 4) the necessity of, interest in, and barriers to its implementation. Necessity and interest were assessed using an 11-point Likert scale, whereas barriers were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale, in which "Strongly agree" and "Agree" were counted for the analysis. Of the 1,058 responders, 1,026 participants, comprising 282 physicians, 489 physical therapists, 84 occupational therapists, 120 nurses, and 51 dieticians, were included in the analysis. In total, 93% of the participants were familiar with general muscle mass assessment, and 64% had conducted it. Ultrasound-based muscle mass assessment was performed by 21% of the participants. Necessity and interest scored 7 (6-8) and 8 (7-10), respectively for ultrasound-based muscle mass assessment. The barriers to its implementation included lack of relevant education (84%), limited staff (61%), and absence of fixed protocol (61%). Regardless of the necessity of and interest in ultrasound-based muscle mass assessment, it was only conducted by one-fifth of the healthcare providers, and the most important barrier to its implementation was lack of education.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Humans
  • Internet
  • Japan
  • Muscles
  • Physical Therapists*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires

Associated data

  • figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.20341449.v1

Grants and funding

This research was funded by a crowdfunding project entitled the Muscle Atrophy Zero Project, using the platform “Otsucle” <https://otsucle.jp/cf/project/2553.html >. This work was partially supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP20K17899. There was no additional external funding received for this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.