ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Sarcopenia is a common complication in patients with cirrhosis and may lead to increased morbidity and mortality.
OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the prevalence of sarcopenia and its association with disease severity scores, among patients with cirrhosis.
DESIGN AND SETTING:
Observational and retrospective cohort study carried out in a tertiary-care hospital in southern Brazil.
METHODS:
This study was conducted among patients with chronic liver disease who were followed up at the gastroenterology and hepatology outpatient clinic of a tertiary-care hospital in southern Brazil and who underwent computed tomography scans of the abdomen through any indication.
RESULTS:
We included 83 patients in the study. In the population evaluated, there was a predominance of males (57.80%) and the mean age was 56 years. Hepatitis B or C virus was present in the genesis of the disease in 34.9% of the cases, followed by an etiology of alcohol abuse (30.1%). Sarcopenia was diagnosed in 41 (49.4%) of the patients when the cutoff point for cirrhotic patients was used. There was no significant correlation between the Child-Pugh and MELD severity scores and the occurrence of sarcopenia.
CONCLUSION:
Sarcopenia presents high prevalence among patients with chronic liver disease, without any association with predictors of severity.
KEY WORDS (MeSH terms):
Liver cirrhosis; Sarcopenia; Mortality; Malnutrition
AUTHORS’ KEY WORDS:
Muscle depletion; Cirrhosis; Chronic liver disease
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