PREVALANCE OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY DETERMINED SARCOPENIA IN COLORECTAL MALIGNANCY A HOSPITAL BASED PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY IN SUB-HIMALAYAN REGION

Ishan Barotra*, Ashish Katoch, Puneet Mahajan and Rashpal Singh Thakur

ABSTRACT

Background: Sarcopenia is a progressive and generalised skeletal muscle disorder involving the accelerated loss of muscle mass and function that is associated with increased adverse outcomes including falls, functional decline, frailty, and mortality. Sarcopenia has become the focus of intense research aiming to translate current knowledge about its pathophysiology into improved diagnosis and treatment The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of sarcopenia in colorectal cancer patients using computed tomography. There is very limited data available from sub-Himalayan belt of northern India, hence the present study was planned to estimate the prevalence of sarcopenia in colorectal cancer patients. Methods: A hospital based prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of General Surgery of a tertiary care hospital in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. All patients who reported to Department of Surgery during the study period of 1st September 2021 to 30th September 2022 with diagnosis of colorectal cancer were considered for the study. Results: Thirty nine patients were included in the study. Prevalence of sarcopenia was 38.46% (15 patients) based on EWGSOP2 (The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2) recommendations. Patients had a mean age of 57.59± 16.51 years. The mean age was 59.58 years in the sarcopenic group (SG) and 55.6 years in the non-sarcopenic group (NSG). The mean SMI (Skeletal Muscle Index) was 47.54±7.65cm²/m² and 49.248±8.44cm²/m² in the SG and NSG, respectively. The mean body mass index (BMI) was lower in the sarcopenic group than in the nonsarcopenic group (20.86 ± 2.34 vs. 21.90± 2.8 kg/m2). Conclusions: Prevalence of sarcopenia was 38.46% (15 patients) based on EWGSOP2 (The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2) recommendations.

Keywords: Sarcopenia _ Prevalance_ Colorectal cancer _Sub Himalayan Region.