Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society
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Observational Study
Handgrip Strength Adds More Prognostic Value to the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease Score Than Imaging-Based Measures of Muscle Mass in Men With Cirrhosis.
Sarcopenia is associated with mortality in cirrhosis, but there is no gold standard for its diagnosis. The comparative utility of different diagnostic methods is unknown. This single-center observational cohort study followed 145 men referred for liver transplant evaluation between 2005 and 2012. ⋯ In predicting mortality, the MELD-handgrip strength bivariate Cox model was superior to a MELD-CT muscle Cox model (P < 0.001). In conclusion, handgrip strength combined with MELD score was the superior predictive model in this novel study examining 3 commonly employed techniques to diagnose sarcopenia in cirrhosis. Handgrip strength has additional potential clinical benefits because it can be performed serially without the radiation dose, cost, and access issues attributable to CT and DEXA.