Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39049617›Full record

ArticleClinical transplantation2024

Comparing Functional Frailty and Radiographic Sarcopenia as Predictors of Outcomes After Liver Transplant.

Sydney L Olson, Praneet Polineni, William Alexander Henry Schwartz, Avesh J Thuluvath, Andres Duarte-Rojo, Daniela P Ladner

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical transplantation, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Cardiac Surgery Management in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Sydney L OlsonNorthwestern University Transplant Outcomes Research Collaborative (NUTORC), Comprehensive Transplant Center (CTC), Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5450-9564
Praneet PolineniNorthwestern University Transplant Outcomes Research Collaborative (NUTORC), Comprehensive Transplant Center (CTC), Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4981-4684
William Alexander Henry SchwartzNorthwestern University Transplant Outcomes Research Collaborative (NUTORC), Comprehensive Transplant Center (CTC), Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5423-9899
Avesh J ThuluvathNorthwestern University Transplant Outcomes Research Collaborative (NUTORC), Comprehensive Transplant Center (CTC), Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6278-1370
Andres Duarte-RojoNorthwestern University Transplant Outcomes Research Collaborative (NUTORC), Comprehensive Transplant Center (CTC), Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5377-9295
Daniela P LadnerNorthwestern University Transplant Outcomes Research Collaborative (NUTORC), Comprehensive Transplant Center (CTC), Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5526-8272

Funding

Transplant Surgery Scientist Training ProgramT32DK077662 · NIDDK · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI Richard M Green, Daniela P Ladner · 2007 to 2026
$3.8M
American Society of Transplant SurgeonsNIDDK NIH HHS T32 DK077662
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionFrailty and sarcopenia are associated with an increased risk of hospitalization and mortality in patients with end-stage liver disease. The ability to identify frail patients at risk of adverse outcomes could help optimize liver transplant (LT) evaluations and pre-transplant care. This study compared sarcopenia, via L3-psoas muscle index (L3-PMI), to frailty, via liver frailty index (LFI) and analyzed associated outcomes after liver transplantation (LT).

methodsA retrospective review of consecutive LT-recipients with cross-sectional abdominal/pelvic imaging were reviewed over 5 years at a single transplant center.

resultsFour hundred and twenty-six patients underwent transplant during this study interval; 31% of patients were sarcopenic. Two hundred eight patients underwent LFI evaluation: 25% were frail, 59% were prefrail, and 16% were robust. Sarcopenic patients had higher LFI scores indicating greater frailty (p = 0.02). Both sarcopenia and LFI-frailty were associated with significantly higher MELD-Na scores. Length of post-LT hospital stay was increased in sarcopenic (mean 14 vs. nonsarcopenic 11 days, p = 0.02) and LFI-frail patients (mean 13 vs. 10 prefrail, 8 robust, p = 0.04). As a categorical variable, neither LFI-frailty nor sarcopenia were significantly associated with reduced survival at 1-year (robust 100%, prefrail 93.5%, frail 91.1%, p = 0.31) (nonsarcopenic 94.4%, sarcopenic 91.4%, p = 0.30). However, LFI score was significantly associated with mortality at 1-year (OR 2.133, p = 0.047).

conclusionsRadiographic sarcopenia is a suitable proxy for in-person frailty assessment as both L3-PMI and LFI capture frail patients' pre-LT. However, physical assessment with frailty better predicts 1-year mortality post-LT than the measurement of muscle mass.

Indexed as

FrailtyLiver TransplantationSarcopeniaAgedCross-Sectional StudiesEnd Stage Liver DiseaseFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedPostoperative ComplicationsPrognosisRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsSurvival Ratefrailtyliver diseaseliver transplantationMELDoutcome predictorssarcopenia

Identifiers

PMID39049617
PMCPMC12036958

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.