Is preoperative sarcopenia associated with postoperative complications after pelvic exenteration surgery?

Abstract

Purpose Pelvic exenteration (PE) involves radical surgical resection of pelvic organs and is associated with considerable morbidity. Sarcopenia is recognised as a predictor of poor surgical outcomes. This study aimed to determine if preoperative sarcopenia is associated with postoperative complications after PE surgery. Methods This retrospective study included patients who underwent PE with an available preoperative CT scan between May 2008 and November 2022 at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and St. Andrews Hospital in South Australia. Total Psoas Area Index (TPAI) was estimated by measuring the cross-sectional area of the psoas muscles at the level of the third lumbar vertebra on abdominal CT, normalised for patient height. Sarcopenia was diagnosed based on gender-specific TPAI cut-off values. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for major postoperative complications with a Clavien-Dindo (CD) grade ≥ 3. Results In total, 128 patients who underwent PE were included, 90 of whom formed the non-sarcopenic group (NSG) and 38 the sarcopenic group (SG). Major postoperative complications (CD grade ≥ 3) occurred in 26 (20.3%) patients. There was no detectable association with sarcopenia and an increased risk of major postoperative complications. Preoperative hypoalbuminemia (P = 0.01) and a prolonged operative time (P = 0.002) were significantly associated with a major postoperative complication on multivariate analysis. Conclusion Sarcopenia is not a predictor of major postoperative complications in patients undergoing PE surgery. Further efforts aimed specifically at optimising preoperative nutrition may be warranted.

Risk factors of postoperative hypoalbuminemia in patients undergoing radical surgery for ovarian cancer

“…This study also found that patients who underwent combined gastrointestinal surgery had a higher incidence of postoperative hypoproteinemia. One of the reasons is that managing concomitant gastrointestinal surgery in these patients requires longer operating times, causing increased energy consumption and increased breakdown of plasma albumin [17] . Additionally, more uids need to be administered, leading to further dilution of plasma albumin [18] .…”