Upper arm anthropometrics versus DXA scan in survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome

Survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) experience severe muscle wasting. Upper arm anthropometrics can provide a quick, non-invasive estimate of muscle status, but its accuracy is unknown. This study examines the accuracy of upper arm percent muscle area (UAMA) with reference measures of lean mass from dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Data are from 120 ARDS survivors participating in a multicenter national study. …