Ultrasound of Accessory Respiratory Muscles

An informed consent for the study was obtained from Ethics Committee, Osijek University Hospital, and Medical Faculty. Each patient will sign an informed consent prior to the inclusion into the prospective observational study. In all patients, the thickness of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM), trapezius muscle (TM), and quadriceps femoris (QF) muscle will be measured. A measurement point is in the middle of each muscle. The diameter of each muscle will be measured three times, and the average of the three measurements will be calculated. In each patient hours of mechanical ventilation, and total time in the ICU will be recorded. Patients' comorbidities, ie. hypertension, cardiac diseases, diabetes, and other metabolic disorders, history of stroke, disabilities, as well as procedures done will be registered. A Pearson's or Spearman's correlation will be used to calculate connections between specific parameters.