Sarcopenia discriminates poor prognosis in elderly patients following emergency surgery for perforation panperitonitis

AIM: Sarcopenia has been reported as a prognostic predictor in various conditions; however, it has not been examined in patients with perforation panperitonitis. METHODS: A total of 103 consecutive patients with perforation panperitonitis who underwent emergency surgery from 2008 to 2016 were retrospectively evaluated. Skeletal muscle index (SMI) was measured as the cross‐sectional area (cm(2)) of skeletal muscle in the L3 region on computed tomography images normalized for height (cm(2)/m(2)). Sarcopenia was defined as an SMI of ≤43.75 and ≤41.10 cm(2)/m(2) in men and women, respectively. The impact of sarcopenia on postoperative outcomes was investigated. RESULTS: Sarcopenia was present in 50 (48.5%) patients. Severe complications (Clavien‐Dindo grade ≥IIIb) and in‐hospital mortality were more frequently observed in patients with than without sarcopenia (28.0% vs 9.4%, P = .015) (20.0% vs 5.7%, P = .029) respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that age, sarcopenia, and renal dysfunction were independent risk factors for severe complications and in‐hospital mortality. The optimal cut‐off levels of age and SMI for predicting these were ≥79 years and SMI <38 cm(2)/m(2), respectively. Among the patients aged ≥79 years, those with SMI <38 cm(2)/m(2) had a severe complication rate of 71% and an in‐hospital mortality rate of 57%, whereas the rate of those with SMI ≥38 cm(2)/m(2) was 22% (P = .011) and 11% (P = .008), respectively. CONCLUSION: Sarcopenia is a predictive factor of severe complications and in‐hospital mortality following emergency surgery for perforation panperitonitis, especially in elderly patients. Estimation of sarcopenia may identify patients eligible or not eligible for emergency surgery among elderly patients.