Impact of sarcopenia on clinical outcomes in pediatric chronic liver disease post-liver transplantation: prevalence and implications

The purpose of this retrospective single-center study was to determine the frequency of sarcopenia and its association with mortality and other morbidities in children with chronic liver disease who had undergone liver transplantation. Sarcopenia, a muscle-wasting syndrome, is common in patients with advanced liver disease and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. While sarcopenia in adults has been extensively studied, there is little information in this regard about children and adolescents with chronic liver diseases. The study included 108 children and adolescents who had undergone liver transplantation. Sarcopenia was measured using skeletal muscle index at the third lumbar vertebral level and assessed using abdominal computed tomography imaging. The frequency of sarcopenia in the studied population was found to be 45.7%. Patients with sarcopenia were more likely to be male (P