Relationship of the Psoas Muscle Index with the Other Nutritional Factors in Patients Who Underwent Emergency Operation with Colonic Perforation

Purpose: This study examined the correlation between the preoperative nutritional index and Sarcopenia in emergency colonic perforation patients. Materials and Methods: Patients undergoing an emergency operation with colorectal perforation at Chosun University Hospital between January 2014 and December 2016 were included in the analysis, and the medical records were reviewed retrospectively. Sarcopenia was defined by the psoas muscle area measured by preoperative computed tomography (CT) cross sectional imaging at L3 vertebra. The clinical nutritional index of patients with PMI (psoas muscle index)-High group were compared with a PMI-Low group. Results: The median PMI of the males was 4.48 cm 2 /m 2 and the median of females was 3.33 cm 2 /m 2 (P=0.002) The PMI-High and PMI-Low groups were not correlated with age and gender (P=0.455 and P=0.806, respectively). The traditional indicators of the nutritional status, such as body mass index (BMI), albumin, and lymphocytes, were not associated with sarcopenia (P=0.094, P=0.676, and P=1.000, respectively). No significant difference was observed between the ASA classification and sarcopenia (P=0.145). Conclusion: Sarcopenia using PMI was not associated with previous nutritional indices in patients undergoing emergency surgery due to colonic perforation. In the future, large-scale studies will need to identify its role as a prognostic factor. (Surg Metab Nutr 2018;9:36-40)