Efectos de la sarcopenia en el paciente en cuidado crítico durante ventilación mecánica prolongada

Abstract

Sarcopenia is defined as decrease in muscular fibers of the skeletal muscle. Its instauration in the critical patient is unfavorable as it results in complications, either by the same pathology that led the patient to that state, or by the prolonged time in the intensive care unit, requiring more aggressive treatment and deteriorating the patient's muscle capacity even more. The aim of this study was to perform a literature state review in development of the sarcopenia in the adult patient in critical care submitted to mechanical ventilation. For this purpose, the framed concepts are: prolonged stay in mechanical ventilation, sarcopenia evolution and identification, and patient prognosis, if applicable. We conclude that in those patients submitted to prolonged ventilatory support, or those situations favoured by the critical environment a marked development to produce sarcopenia exists. ICU health professionals play a key role for managing, diagnosing and adequately treating this condition.