Rapid Skeletal Muscle Loss in Cirrhosis: Predictors, Outcomes, and Implications for Clinical Management

Highlight

• Median annual skeletal muscle loss in patients with cirrhosis awaiting liver transplantation is approximately 1.6%.

• Rapid muscle loss (RML), defined as the worst quartile of muscle loss (< -7.4% per year), predicts significantly higher waitlist mortality independent of MELD-Na score.

• Ascites and higher MELD-Na scores independently associate with increased risk of RML.

• Understanding the rate of muscle loss and its predictors informs prognostication and potential interventions targeting sarcopenia in cirrhosis.

Study Background