Sarcopenia and Mortality after Liver Transplantation

Surgeons frequently struggle to determine patient suitability for liver transplantation. Objective and comprehensive measures of overall burden of disease, such as sarcopenia, could inform clinicians and help avoid futile transplantations. STUDY DESIGN: The cross-sectional area of the psoas muscle was measured on CT scans of 163 liver transplant recipients. After controlling for donor and recipient characteristics using Cox regression models, we described the relationship between psoas area and post-transplantation mortality.

Psoas area correlated poorly with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score and serum albumin. Cox regression revealed a strong association between psoas area and post-transplantation mortality (hazard ratio = 3.7/1,000 mm(2) decrease in psoas area; p