Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2021 , Vol 24, Issue 4
THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PROGNOSIS AND SARCOPENIA ASSESSED BY PSOAS MUSCLE MEASUREMENTS IN ELDERLY MALE PATIENTS WITH COVID-19
Musa POLAT1, Çiğdem Samur SALBAŞ2, Sema SARI3, Mustafa DOĞAN4, Selim ÇAM5, Ahmet KARADAĞ6
1NiÄŸde Omer Halisdemir University, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, NiÄŸde, Turkey
2NiÄŸde Omer Halisdemir University Training and Research Hospital, Radiology, NiÄŸde, Turkey
3NiÄŸde Omer Halisdemir University Training and Research Hospital, Infectious Diseases, NiÄŸde, Turkey
4Nigde Omer Halisdemir University, Forensic Medicine, NiÄŸde, Turkey
5Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Hospital Statistic, Sivas, Turkey
6Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sivas, Turkey
DOI : 10.31086/tjgeri.2021.253 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 crosssectional 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. Keywords : Sarcopenia; COVID-19; Intensive Care Units; Mortality