Impact of sarcopenia in infants with liver transplantation for biliary atresia

While sarcopenia is an important predictor of LT outcomes in adults, few studies have examined the association of sarcopenia with LT outcomes in pediatric patients. We investigated the clinical influence of sarcopenia on the post-transplant outcomes in infants with BA. To define sarcopenia in infants, the cross-sectional area of the tPMA in 93 healthy control infants was measured by computed tomography. Sarcopenia was defined as a tPMA lower than two standard deviations below the mean of healthy control infants. Eighty-nine infants with BA with a median age at LT of 7.6 months old were enrolled. The clinical characteristics and outcomes of LT were verified in the sarcopenia group (n = 21) and non-sarcopenia group (n = 68). The sarcopenia group had a significantly longer operation time and greater blood loss during LT than the non-sarcopenia group (P = .03 and 0.02). The incidence of portal vein stenosis and post-operative bloodstream infection was also significantly higher in the sarcopenia group than in the non-sarcopenia group (23.8% vs 4.4%, P = .02 and 28.6% vs 10.3%, P = .04, respectively). The total length of hospital stay did not differ significantly. The 1-year patient and graft survival rates tended to be lower in the sarcopenia group than in the non-sarcopenia group (90.5% vs 98.5%, P = .07 and 85.7% vs 97.1%, P = .05, respectively). Sarcopenia in infants with BA may be associated with the patient survival and serve as an effective marker for post-operative outcomes of LT.