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Updated: Apr 30, 2026
Author Spotlight: Assessing Surgical Frailty with Point-of-Care Ultrasound of Quadriceps Muscles
Published on: July 26, 2024
Quantitative muscle ultrasound and quadriceps strength in patients with post-polio syndrome
Alice Bickerstaffe1, Anita Beelen, Machiel J Zwarts
1Department of Rehabilitation, Academic Medical Center, Postbus 22660, 1100 DD, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Introduction:
We investigated whether muscle ultrasound can distinguish muscles affected by post-polio syndrome (PPS) from healthy muscles and whether severity of ultrasound abnormalities is associated with muscle strength.
Methods:
Echo intensity, muscle thickness, and isometric strength of the quadriceps muscles were measured in 48 patients with PPS and 12 healthy controls.
Results:
Patients with PPS had significantly higher echo intensity and lower muscle thickness than healthy controls. In patients, both echo intensity and muscle thickness were associated independently with muscle strength. A combined measure of echo intensity and muscle thickness was more strongly related to muscle strength than either parameter alone.
Conclusions:
Quantitative ultrasound distinguishes healthy muscles from those affected by PPS, and measures of muscle quality and quantity are associated with muscle strength. Hence, ultrasound could be a useful tool for assessing disease severity and monitoring changes resulting from disease progression or clinical intervention in patients with PPS.
