Sarcopenia is a risk factor for postoperative complications in adults with inflammatory bowel disease

1. Sarcopenia is associated with an increased risk of adverse postoperative outcomes in older adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

A considerable fraction of individuals living with IBD will undergo IBD-related surgery soon after diagnosis, presenting a point of concern for older adults living with IBD who are at a greater risk of postoperative complications. In many studies of populations of non-IBD older adults, sarcopenia has been shown to be an important risk factor for adverse postoperative outcomes. This single-institution, multi-hospital retrospective study therefore sought to investigate the relationship between skeletal muscle mass and postoperative outcomes in a population of older adults with IBD undergoing IBD-related surgery. 120 individuals (median age = 70 years) aged 60 years or older who underwent intestinal resection for IBD between 2012 and 2022 within the NYU Langone Health System were included in this study. The Total Psoas Index (TPI) and Skeletal Muscle Index (SMI) were obtained for each patient. Overall, 48 (40.0%) patients experienced an adverse 30-day postoperative outcome. Using receiver operating characteristic curves, SMI had a significantly higher area under the curve (AUC) than TPI (0.66 [95% CI, 0.56-0.76] versus 0.58 [95% CI, 0.48-0.69], P = 0.02). Lower SMI was found to be significantly associated with a greater risk of an adverse 30-day postoperative outcome, as the median SMI for patients experiencing an adverse outcome was 37.1 cm2/m2 versus 41.8 cm2/m2 for patients who did not experience an adverse outcome (P < 0.01). Overall, this study found that sarcopenia, as measured by SMI, is associated with increased risks of adverse postoperative outcomes in older adults living with IBD.

Click to read the study in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Image: PD

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