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D’Arcangelo et al. Hepatoma Res 2021;7:4 Hepatoma Research
DOI: 10.20517/2394-5079.2020.109

Original Article Open Access

The impact of sarcopenia on the outcome
of patients with cirrhosis with and without

hepatocellular carcinoma who undergo liver
transplantation

Francesca D’Arcangelo *, Alberto Zanetto *, Camillo Aliberti , Sarah Shalaby , Monica Pellone , Salvatore
1
2
1,
1
1,
Stefano Sciarrone , Chiara Becchetti , Alberto Ferrarese , Martina Gambato , Francesco Paolo Russo ,
1
1
1
1
1
Giacomo Germani , Marco Senzolo , Alessandro Vitale , Umberto Cillo , Patrizia Burra
1
3
3
1
1
1 Multivisceral Transplant Unit, Gastroenterology, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, Padua University
Hospital, Padua 35128, Italy.
2 Radiology, Department of Medicine, Padua University Hospital, Padua 35128, Italy.
3 Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation Unit, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, Padua University
Hospital, Padua 35128, Italy.
*These authors equally contributed.
Correspondence to: Prof. Patrizia Burra, Multivisceral Transplant Unit, Gastroenterology, Department of Surgery, Oncology and
Gastroenterology, Padua University Hospital, Via Giustiniani 2, Padua 35128, Italy. E-mail: burra@unipd.it
How to cite this article: D’Arcangelo F, Zanetto A, Aliberti C, Shalaby S, Pellone M, Sciarrone SS, Becchetti C, Ferrarese A,
Received: First Decision: Revised: Accepted: Published: Gambato M, Russo FP, Germani G, Senzolo M, Vitale A, Cillo U, Burra P. The impact of sarcopenia on the outcome of patients
with cirrhosis with and without hepatocellular carcinoma who undergo liver transplantation. Hepatoma Res 2021;7:4.
Science Editor: Copy Editor: Production Editor: Jing Yu http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-5079.2020.109
Received: 18 Sep 2020 First Decision: 10 Oct 2020 Revised: 26 Oct 2020 Accepted: 5 Nov 2020 Published: 7 Jan 2021
Academic Editor: Guido Guenther Gerken Copy Editor: Cai-Hong Wang Production Editor: Jing Yu
Abstract
Background: The impact of sarcopenia on the outcome of patients with cirrhosis who undergo liver transplantation
(LT) has been analysed in heterogeneous cohorts with mixed results. We sought to determine the prevalence and
the impact of pre-LT sarcopenia on morbidity and mortality after LT in a cohort of patients with cirrhosis with and
without hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Patients with cirrhosis who underwent LT between 2010 and 2016 at Padua University Hospital
were retrospectively evaluated. Using image software analysis, cross-sectional area of skeletal muscle at 3rd lumbar
2
2
vertebra was measured and skeletal muscle index (SMI) was calculated. Sarcopenia was defined by SMI < 50 cm /m
2
in males and < 39 cm /m in females, respectively. Primary outcome was post-LT survival. Secondary outcomes
2
included hospitalization length and post-LT complications.
© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license,
and indicate if changes were made.

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