Ultrasonographic monitoring of feline epaxial muscle height as part of an annual wellness examination to assess for the development of sarcopenia

• Published in: Journal of feline medicine and surgery 2023-01, Vol.25 (1), p.1098612X221140081-1098612X221140081
• Main Authors: Lutchman, Aaron, Shanker, Natasha, Comerford, Eithne, German, Alexander J, Leung, Y Becca, Maddox, Thomas, Dowgray, Nathalie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Body Weight; Cat Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Cats; Diagnostic Tests, Routine - standards; Diagnostic Tests, Routine - veterinary; Muscles - diagnostic imaging; Original; Sarcopenia - diagnostic imaging; Sarcopenia - veterinary; Ultrasonography - veterinary
• ISSN: 1098-612X; 1532-2750
• DOI: 10.1177/1098612X221140081

Objectives The aim of this study was to determine if epaxial muscle height (EMH) could be reliably incorporated into annual routine wellness screenings, and also determine its relationship to age, body condition score (BCS), subjective muscle assessment (SMA), breed and sex in mature cats. Methods EMH was determined independently by three observers from ultrasonographic examinations – collected by an additional trained individual – of cats enrolled at the Feline Healthy Ageing Clinic, University of Liverpool, UK. Age, body weight, BCS and SMA data were also collected. Results A total of 92 cats were included, 35 of which had repeat ultrasonographic examinations 12 months apart. Enrolled cats were a median age of 8 years and 9 months at the time of the first measurement. Variation in the quality of ultrasonographic images collected did not affect muscle depth measurements (P = 0.974). Further, there was good intra- and inter-observer repeatability for all observations (intraclass correlation range 0.97−0.99). There was a moderate positive association between EMH and body weight (r = 0.49, P