Value of sarcopenia assessed by computed tomography for the prediction of postoperative morbidity following oncological colorectal resection: A comparison with the malnutrition screening tool.

BACKGROUND: Computed tomography (CT) can be used for accurate estimation of whole-body muscle mass and muscle density and for detection of sarcopenia. The goal of this study was to evaluate the additional value of CT measured sarcopenia and muscle attenuation alongside the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) for the prediction of post-operative morbidity after oncological colorectal resection, whilst correcting for known risk factors. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 80 patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery in the Netherlands. Patients were screened for nutritional risk upon admission using the MUST. Additionally, preoperative CT scans were used to determine skeletal muscle mass for the detection of sarcopenia and muscle attenuation. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed to evaluate associations between the MUST, muscle attenuation and sarcopenia on the one hand and post-operative complications measured by the Clavien-Dindo score on the other hand. RESULTS: American Society of Anesthesiology-classification (ASA) ≥3, age ≥70, MUST ≥2 and lower than median muscle attenuation were significantly associated with a higher risk for postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo score ≥2) (p ≤ 0.05), whereas sarcopenia was not (p = 0.59). Multivariate analyses showed that only MUST ≥2 remained significantly associated with postoperative complications when corrected for age (p = 0.03, OR 5.8, 95%CI 1.1-29.6), but not when corrected for age ≥70 and ASA ≥3. Muscle attenuation and sarcopenia were not significantly associated with postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that using CT measured sarcopenia may have only little additional value over the MUST for the prediction of increased short-term post-operative morbidity after oncological colorectal surgery. It also underlines the importance of currently implemented easy-to-use nutritional screening tools (MUST) and raises the question of the evaluation of muscle quality versus quantity in body composition imaging. However, further research is needed to investigate the role of sarcopenia for predicting outcome after colorectal surgery, and investigate the role of muscle attenuation measurements for the prediction of muscle function. CATEGORY OF SUBMISSION: observational study.

Evaluation of nutritional status as an independent predictor of post-operative complications and morbidity after gastro-intestinal surgery.

BACKGROUND: Nutritional Risk Screening-2002 (NRS-2002) and the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) are screening tools for nutritional risk that have also been used to predict post-operative complications and morbidity, though not all studies confirm the reliability of nutritional screening. Our study aims to evaluate the independent predictive value of nutritional risk screening in addition to currently documented medical, surgical and anesthesiological risk factors for post-operative complications, as well as length of hospital stay. METHODS: This study is a prospective observational cohort study of 129 patients undergoing elective gastro-intestinal-surgery. Patients were screened for nutritional risk upon admission using both MUST and NRS-2002 screening tools. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the independent predictive value of nutritional risk for post-operative complications and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: MUST ≥2 (OR 2.87; 95% CI 1.05-7.87) and peri-operative transfusion (OR 2.78; 95% CI 1.05-7.40) were significant independent predictors for the occurrence of post-operative complications. Peri-operative transfusion (HR 2.40; 95% CI 1.45-4.00), age ≥70 (HR 1.50; 95% CI 1.05-2.16) and open surgery versus laparoscopic surgery (HR 1.39; 95% CI 0.94-2.05) were independent predictors for increased length of hospital stay, whereas American Society of Anesthesiology Score (ASA) and MUST were not. CONCLUSION: Nutritional risk screening (MUST ≥2) is an independent predictor for post-operative complications, but not for increased length of hospital stay.