Physical Therapist Inter-Rater Reliability in Neuro-Muscle Ultrasound in Critically Ill Patients

The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the feasibility and inter-rater reliability of muscle and peripheral nerve ultrasound for the early detection of ICU-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) in critically ill patients.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

Can ICU physical therapists consistently measure muscle and nerve ultrasound variables such as muscle thickness, cross-sectional area, pennation angle, and echogenicity in critically ill patients?

Do clinical scales (MRC-SS and FSS-ICU) show inter-evaluator agreement and correlate with ultrasound findings?

Participants are adult ICU patients at Clínica INDISA who are undergoing routine neuromuscular assessments by trained physical therapists. Each patient will be evaluated by three independent raters using ultrasound and standardized clinical scales. Data will be collected and analyzed to determine inter-rater reliability and correlations between clinical and imaging findings.