This is the first study demonstrating persistent sarcopenia associated with poorer growth and recurrent hospitalization in children post-LTx.

Malnutrition is a common complication in patients with end‐stage liver disease (ESLD) awaiting liver transplantation (LT). Malnutrition and sarcopenia overlap in etiology and outcomes, with sarcopenia being defined as reduced skeletal muscle mass and muscle function. The purpose of this review was to identify the prevalence of sarcopenia with and without obesity in adults and children with ESLD and to assess the methodological considerations in sarcopenia diagnosis and the association of sarcopenia with pre‐ and post‐LT outcomes. A total of 38 articles (35 adult and 3 pediatric articles) retrieved from PubMed or Web of Science databases were included. In adults, the prevalence rates of pre‐LT sarcopenia, pre‐LT sarcopenic obesity (SO), post‐LT sarcopenia, and post‐LT SO were 14%‐78%, 2%‐42%, 30%‐100%, and 88%, respectively. Only 2 adult studies assessed muscle function in patients diagnosed with sarcopenia. The presence of pre‐LT sarcopenia is associated with higher wait‐list mortality, greater postoperative mortality, higher infection risk and postoperative complications, longer intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and ventilator dependency. The emerging pediatric data suggest that sarcopenia is prevalent in pre‐ and post‐LT periods. In 1 pediatric study, sarcopenia was associated with poor growth, longer perioperative length of stay (total/ICU) and ventilator dependency, and increased rehospitalization in children after LT. In conclusion, there is a high prevalence of sarcopenia in adults and children with ESLD. Sarcopenia is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. The present review is limited by heterogeneity in the definition of sarcopenia and in the methodological approaches in assessing sarcopenia. Future studies are needed to standardize the sarcopenia diagnosis and muscle function assessment, particularly in the pediatric population, to enable early identification and treatment of sarcopenia in adults and children with ESLD.

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As survival post-liver transplantation (LTx) improves, it becomes increasingly important to understand how long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is impacted. This was a longitudinal review examining HRQOL measured by Pediatric Liver Transplant Quality of Life (PeLTQL) in children between 8-17 years who underwent LTx (1.4 [0.8–3.3] years) at least one year prior to assessment. Demographic, medical, anthropometric, and HRQOL data (self-reported and parent proxy) were retrospectively collected over four years (2014–2017) at annual LTx clinic visits. The study included 35 patients (18M, 17F) and their parents/guardians. Parent-proxy and child PeLTQL scores (total, subdomain) showed good to excellent agreement (p > 0.05) and did not change over four years (p > 0.05). Younger age (<12 years) and Caucasian ancestry were associated with higher parental and self-reported perceptions of HRQOL, respectively (future health, coping and adjustment, total scores). Parent perceived lower HRQOL in social–emotional sub-domain (p = 0.03) and the child reported lower sub-domain scores related to coping and adjustment (p = 0.04) when the child was noted to have co-morbid conditions related to mental health and neurocognitive development (25.7%). While child–parent perceptions of HRQOL in a multi-ethnic population of pediatric LTx recipients remain unchanged 10 years post-LTx, adolescents of non-Caucasian ancestry remain a population at risk for lower HRQOL.

Myopenia (reduced skeletal muscle [SM]) is common in children with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) with suboptimal nutritional status pre-and post-liver transplantation (LTx). Myopenia may result in altered SM morphology (changes in muscle fibre size and types [type I vs. II proportions]) contributing to adverse outcomes and deficits in muscle strength/functionality. Understanding SM morphology changes in healthy children with age, and the potential impact of ESLD on SM morphology offers insight into the effectiveness of rehabilitation strategies for children with ESLD at risk for myopenia. Literature searches in PUBMED, SCOPUS, and WEB OF SCIENCE identified studies examining SM morphology in healthy children, and in ESLD. Muscle fibre size increases with age in healthy children. Type I fibres are more prevalent in childhood, whereas type II fibres increase post-puberty. Preliminary evidence indicates that adults with ESLD have reduced muscle fiber size with type II fibre atrophy. No data is available in pediatric ESLD. SM morphology changes with age and may be impacted by the negative physical and metabolic insults associated with ESLD and malnutrition.