Bedside Measures of Frailty and Cognitive Function Correlate with Sarcopenia in Patients with Cirrhosis

Background Frailty and sarcopenia are associated with mortality and poor outcomes among patients with cirrhosis. Frailty is multifactorial but due in part to sarcopenia and cognitive dysfunction. Data are limited regarding the correlation of bedside frailty and cognitive function measures with sarcopenia. Aims To evaluate the correlations between frailty measures and muscle indices from computed tomography (CT). Methods We prospectively enrolled 106 patients with clinically compensated cirrhosis (and no prior hepatic encephalopathy). All patients underwent CT scan and cognitive testing (via inhibitory control test, ICT), and were subject to hand grip, 30-s chair stands, mid-arm muscle area (MAMA), and a four-question algorithm based on the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) predictive of minimal HE. We evaluated Spearman correlations between all measures as well as the sensitivity and specificity of each measure for falls. Results In total, 106 (35.3%) patients (55 men) had CT scans to measure skeletal muscle area and quality. Hand grip correlated strongly with skeletal muscle area (correlation coefficient 0.64, p