ESPEN 2012 - Late breaking abstract submission

Topic: Late Breaking Abstract

Abs n°:ESPEN12-1903

Abs Title: IMPACT OF C-REACTIVE PROTEIN ON HANDGRIP STRENGTH IN THE NON-CRITICALLY ILL

N. Stobäus ¹K. Kulka ¹J. Schulzke ¹K. Norman ^1,*

¹Dept of Gastroenterology, Charite University Medicine, Berlin, Germany

Rationale: Hand grip strength is one of the most established predictors for short and long term outcome. We investigated whether C-reactive protein (CRP) as indicator of acute inflammation is associated with maximal isometric handgrip strength in non-critically ill patients.

Methods: Handgrip strength was measured with Jamar dynamometer in 600 hospitalized non-critically ill patients (55.2±15.2 years old, 62% men). CRP was measured with standard laboratory methods.

Results: A general linear model regression analysis corrected for confounding variables such as age, sex, arm muscle area, BMI and diagnosis category (malignant/benign disease) revealed that CRP was an independent predictor of grip strength (CRP: ß-coefficient: -0.227, p<0.001). All groups with inflammation showed significant reduction in handgrip strength, corresponding to a loss of appr.-1.5 kg in mild inflammation, -3.4 kg in moderate inflammation and -4.2 kg in severe inflammation compared to patients without inflammation (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Our data demonstrate the association between inflammation and handgrip strength even in non-critically ill patients. If hand grip strength is not acitvely improved after hospital stay, it may have serious implications for the patients’ functional status and prognosis.

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared

Keywords: hand grip strengthinflammation