A reliable and robust method for the upper thigh muscle quantification on computed tomography: toward a quantitative biomarker for sarcopenia.

Yousun Ko, Youngbin Shin, Yu Sub Sung, Jiwoo Lee, Jei Hee Lee, Jai Keun Kim, Jisuk Park, Hye Sun Ko, Kyung Won Kim, Jimi Huh

BMC musculoskeletal disorders 2022 Jan 27

filter terms:

We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of the upper thigh level as a landmark to measure muscle area for sarcopenia assessment on computed tomography (CT). In the 116 healthy subjects who performed CT scans covering from mid-abdomen to feet, the skeletal muscle area in the upper thigh level at the inferior tip of ischial tuberosity (SMAUT), the mid-thigh level (SMAMT), and L3 inferior endplate level (SMAL3) were measured by two independent readers. Pearson correlation coefficients between SMAUT, SMAMT, and SMAL3 were calculated. Inter-reader agreement between the two readers were evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots with 95% limit of agreement (LOA). In readers 1 and 2, very high positive correlations were observed between SMAUT and SMAMT (r = 0.91 and 0.92, respectively) and between SMAUT and SMAL3 (r = 0.90 and 0.91, respectively), while high positive correlation were observed between SMAMT and SMAL3 (r = 0.87 and 0.87, respectively). Based on ICC values, the inter-reader agreement was the best in the SMAUT (0.999), followed by the SMAL3 (0.990) and SMAMT (0.956). The 95% LOAs in the Bland-Altman plots indicated that the inter-reader agreement of the SMAUT (- 0.462 to 1.513) was the best, followed by the SMAL3 (- 9.949 to 7.636) and SMAMT (- 12.105 to 14.605). Muscle area measurement at the upper thigh level correlates well with those with the mid-thigh and L3 inferior endpoint level and shows the highest inter-reader agreement. Thus, the upper thigh level might be an excellent landmark enabling SMAUT as a reliable and robust biomarker for muscle area measurement for sarcopenia assessment. © 2022. The Author(s).

Citation

Yousun Ko, Youngbin Shin, Yu Sub Sung, Jiwoo Lee, Jei Hee Lee, Jai Keun Kim, Jisuk Park, Hye Sun Ko, Kyung Won Kim, Jimi Huh. A reliable and robust method for the upper thigh muscle quantification on computed tomography: toward a quantitative biomarker for sarcopenia. BMC musculoskeletal disorders. 2022 Jan 27;23(1):93