The assessment of sarcopenia using psoas muscle thickness per height is not predictive of post-operative complications in IBD.

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia is associated with postoperative complications in inflammatory bowel disease. It has most commonly been defined using the skeletal muscle index, computed after analysis of cross-sectional muscle area at L3. Psoas muscle thickness normalized to height (PMTH), which is easier to derive, is a potential surrogate of SMI and sarcopenia in patients with cirrhosis and chronic pancreatitis. We investigate whether sarcopenia defined by PMTH has utility in predicting post-operative outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of adults undergoing IBD-related surgery from 2009 to 2019 at two hospitals. Sarcopenia was defined by sex-specific PMTH at the umbilicus on cross-sectional imaging using a 50 RESULTS: 85 patients with IBD were included. Lower albumin level (OR = 0.52, CONCLUSIONS: A low status of PMTH was not associated with increased postoperative complications, however hypoalbuminemia and biologic use were. PMTH as a surrogate for sarcopenia requires further study, ideally with prospective studies comparing PMTH with accepted radiographic surrogates for sarcopenia, to determine its role in clinical decision making