Role of Sarcopenia in Predicting the Postoperative Morbidity and Perioperative Mortality in Patients Undergoing Elective Surgery for Gastric Cancer.

This study was done to assess the effect of sarcopenia and other risk factors on the postoperative morbidity and perioperative mortality of patients undergoing elective surgery for gastric cancer. This was a prospective cohort study comprising a single group of patients undergoing elective surgery for gastric cancer carried out in a tertiary care center in India. Patients diagnosed with gastric cancer underwent contrast-enhanced computed tomography preoperatively. Patients were considered sarcopenic when their skeletal muscle index (SMI) was   0.05) including 30-day mortality (p = 0.155), prolonged postoperative hospital stay (p = 0.876), or 30-day readmission rate (0.524). Among the variables considered, only esophagojejunostomy (p < 0.001) was associated with a poor postoperative outcome. The present study showed that there was a high prevalence of sarcopenia (62%) in patients undergoing elective surgery for gastric cancer. However, it did not adversely affect the postoperative outcome. Among the variables considered, esophagojejunostomy alone was associated with a poor postoperative outcome.