The effect of computed tomography parameters on sarcopenia and myosteatosis assessment: a scoping review

Computed tomography (CT) is a valuable assessment method for muscle pathologies such as sarcopenia, cachexia, and myosteatosis. However, several key underappreciated scan imaging parameters need consideration for both research and clinical use, specifically CT kilovoltage and the use of contrast material. We conducted a scoping review to assess these effects on CT muscle measures. We reviewed articles from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science from 1970 to 2020 on the effect of intravenous contrast material and variation in CT kilovoltage on muscle mass and density. We identified 971 articles on contrast and 277 articles on kilovoltage. The number of articles that met inclusion criteria for contrast and kilovoltage was 11 and 7, respectively. Ten studies evaluated the effect of contrast on muscle density of which nine found that contrast significantly increases CT muscle density (arterial phase 6–23% increase, venous phase 19–57% increase, and delayed phase 23–43% increase). Seven out of 10 studies evaluating the effect of contrast on muscle area found significant increases in area due to contrast (≤2.58%). Six studies evaluating kilovoltage on muscle density found that lower kilovoltage resulted in a higher muscle density (14–40% increase). One study reported a significant decrease in muscle area when reducing kilovoltage (2.9%). The use of contrast and kilovoltage variations can have dramatic effects on skeletal muscle analysis and should be considered and reported in CT muscle analysis research. These significant factors in CT skeletal muscle analysis can alter clinical and research outcomes and are therefore a barrier to clinical application unless better appreciated.