Acute Skeletal Muscle Wasting in Critical Illness

Abstract

Survivors of critical illness experience significant skeletal muscle weakness and physical disability, which can persist for at least 5 years.^1,2 Muscle wasting contributes substantially to weakness acquired in the intensive care unit (ICU),^1,3 but its time course and underlying pathophysiological mechanisms remain poorly characterized and understood. In health, muscle mass is maintained through balanced protein breakdown and synthesis.⁴ For wasting to occur, breakdown must be increased relative to synthesis.