Research Square · Oct 19, 2026
Thenar Muscle Thickness Assessed by Point-of-Care Ultrasound and Geriatric Vulnerability in Hospitalized Older Adults: A Pilot Study
By Anzoletti N, Giansante M, Paolini C et al.
Background Malnutrition and sarcopenia frequently coexist in hospitalized older adults. Thenar muscle thickness (TMT) may provide a pragmatic correlate of geriatric vulnerability, but its clinical relevance is unestablished. Methods This retrospective, single-centre, cross-sectional pilot study analyzed 50 hospitalized patients aged 75 years or older, admitted between October and December 2024. Unadjusted Spearman correlations assessed associations between TMT and Mini Nutritional Assessment–Short Form (MNA-SF), Braden, and Conley scores. Bootstrap 95% confidence intervals were calculated for these three correlations. Results Mean age was 86.2 years; 60.0% of participants were women. Mean TMT was 2.62 cm (SD, 0.48). Overall, 84.0% of patients were malnourished or at risk of malnutrition, 66.0% had high pressure-injury risk, and 90.0% had a Conley score indicating fall risk. Higher TMT correlated with higher MNA-SF (rho = 0.760; 95% CI, 0.595–0.859; P < 0.001) and Braden scores (rho = 0.560; 95% CI, 0.340–0.729; P < 0.001), and with lower Conley scores (Rho = − 0.406; 95% CI, − 0.627 to − 0.141; P = 0.003). Associations remained directionally consistent after adjustment for age and sex: partial rho was 0.753 (95% CI, 0.572–0.865) for MNA-SF, 0.510 (95% CI, 0.251–0.709) for Braden, and − 0.361 (95% CI, − 0.602 to − 0.054) for Conley. TMT was not significantly associated with length of stay (Rho = − 0.240; P = 0.093). Conclusions In very old hospitalized adults, lower TMT was associated with poorer nutritional status and greater fall and pressure-injury risk. TMT may complement multidimensional geriatric assessment, but the small, unadjusted pilot design and absence of a sarcopenia reference standard preclude diagnostic or independent prognostic claims.