The association between prognosis and sarcopenia assessed by psoas muscle measurements in elderly male patients with covid-19

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Sarcopenia, which is defined as a generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, is an important clinical condition, especially among elderly patients with comorbidities. This study assesses the association between prognosis and sarcopenia assessed by psoas muscle measurements in elderly male patients with coronavirus disease 2019. Materials and Methods: This study included 130 consecutive elderly male patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019. The participants were followed until their time of discharge or death. The psoas muscle cross-sectional area, psoas density, and psoas muscle index measurements were performed based on a single-axial computed tomography section at the L2 vertebral corpus. The outcome measurements of the patients were determined as intensive care unit admission and mortality. Results: During the clinical course of these patients, 29.2% (38) were transferred to the intensive care unit, and 13.1% (17) died. The interclass correlation coefficients for the psoas muscle cross-sectional area and density were 0.91 and 0.93, respectively, between observers. Low psoas muscle index is significantly associated with mortality (p = 0.001), and the probability of mortality increases approximately 5–30 times as the psoas muscle index decreases. No factors were identified as being significantly associated with intensive care unit admission. Conclusion: In elderly male patients who are hospitalized due to coronavirus disease 2019, an assessment of the psoas muscle may provide additional information on the prognosis of the disease. © 2021, Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved.