Congratulations to Numaan Dogar, MS, and colleagues for taking home Best Oral Presentation Abstract in Emergency Imaging during ARRS 2026! Assessing frailty is crucial for trauma triage; however, the gold standard psoas muscle isn’t visible if abdominal imaging isn’t performed.
Cervicofacial Correlation: Dogar et al. showed that cervicofacial muscles—masseter and sternocleidomastoid (SCM)—are reliable surrogates for sarcopenia.
- Male & Masseter: In men, the masseter index was highly predictive of sarcopenia (AUC 0.79).
- Better Together: Combining masseter and SCM indices increased diagnostic accuracy (r = 0.56).
- Riskier, Earlier: These markers allow for earlier risk stratification using only head or C-spine CT.
RadFYI: While the correlation was strongest in men, the SCM in women still showed a modest AUC of 0.69—suggesting potential for broader use.
Leave a Reply