INTENT-Muscle
The currently recruiting randomised controlled trial (RCT) “Intensive Nutrition Therapy Compared to Usual Care in Critically Ill Adults” (INTENT) is the first multi-centre trial to provide an individualised nutrition intervention for the duration of hospital admission in critically ill patients. Four INTENT sites in Australia are currently participating in the INTENT-Muscle longitudinal observational sub-study. Rationale: Critically ill patients may experience debilitating loss of muscle mass and strength, leading to substantial functional impairments both during and long after hospitalisation. Little is known about what therapies may attenuate deterioration of muscle health (muscle mass and muscle quality) in this setting but nutrition is thought to be important, based on the physiological response to critical illness. The currently recruiting randomised controlled trial (RCT) “Intensive Nutrition Therapy Compared to Usual Care in Critically Ill Adults” (INTENT) is the first multi-centre trial to provide an individualised nutrition intervention for the duration of hospital admission in critically ill patients. |  |
Combining the most promising and novel bedside techniques for objectively measuring muscle health (bioimpedance technology and ultrasound) with a whole hospital nutrition intervention has never been done before, and will provide crucial data to understand the relationship between nutrition delivery and changes in muscularity from ICU admission to hospital discharge.
Aim: To explore changes in muscle health in response to an individualised nutrition intervention and in association with clinical and functional outcomes, using clinically applicable bedside techniques including upper arm and bi-lateral thigh ultrasound and bioimpedance spectroscopy. Measures of muscle health occur at baseline, hospital discharge and every 7 days in between.
Study Progress: Recruitment to INTENT-Muscle completed on 31 January 2023. A total of 21 patients were successfully recruited to the body composition sub-study with five out of six participating sites recruiting at least one participant. A manuscript is in draft.
Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04896515
Funding: This sub-study is funded via A/Prof Emma Ridley’s NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellowship Research Support Package.