• Hans-Jonas Meyer, Andreas Wienke, and Alexey Surov.
• Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. Electronic address: Hans-jonas.meyer@medizin.uni-leipzig.de.
• Nutrition. 2021 Nov 1; 91-92: 111417.

ObjectiveLow skeletal muscle mass (LSMM) can be assessed by imaging modalities and is associated with several clinically relevant factors in critically ill patients. Our aim was to establish the effect of computed tomography (CT)-defined LSMM on short-term mortality in critically ill patients based on a large patient sample.MethodsThe MedLine library and the Cochrane and SCOPUS databases were screened for associations between CT-defined LSMM and short-term mortality in critically ill patients up to May 2021. The primary endpoint of the systematic review was the odds ratio of sarcopenia on mortality. In total, nine studies were selected as suitable for the analysis and included into the present analysis.ResultsThe studies included a total of 1563 critically ill patients with different underlying diagnoses. The pooled overall prevalence of LSMM was 50.9%. The pooled odds ratio for the effect of sarcopenia on short-term mortality was 2.78 (95% confidence interval, 2.05-3.75).ConclusionsCT-defined LSMM is highly prevalent in critically ill patients, has a relevant effect on short-term mortality, and should be included as a relevant prognostic biomarker in clinical routines.Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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