Phase angle as a marker for sarcopenia in cirrhosis

Summary Background In patients with cirrhosis nutritional disturbances can progress to sarcopenia, worsening the disease prognosis. Phase angle (PA) may be a useful marker for sarcopenia in this clinical population reflecting the cellular integrity level. This cross-sectional and prospective study evaluated the association between low PA values and clinical/nutritional variables in cirrhosis with emphasis on sarcopenia. Methods Male patients with cirrhosis (n = 122) were grouped according their PA values (>4.9° or ≤ 4.9°) after performing electrical bioimpedance. Sarcopenia diagnosis was assessed by considering appendicular skeletal muscle mass indexes Results Sarcopenic patients presented lower HGS (19.57 vs . 30.55, p = 0.000), PA value (4.18 vs. 5.39, p = 0.005), SM (17.17 vs. 22.00 (p = 0.05), reactance (36.76 vs . 51.11, p = 0.023), and albumin (3.10 vs . 3.75, p = 0.037), as well as higher resistance values (512.56 vs . 457.01, p = 0.021) and CRP levels (7.89 vs . 3.53, p = 0.040) than non-sarcopenic patients. Furthermore, the PA values ≤ 5.05° were able to predict with high sensitivity the diagnosis of sarcopenia in the studied population. Conclusion In male patients with cirrhosis, low PA values may reflect disease prognosis by correlating to sarcopenia among other clinical/nutritional changes and performed as a good marker for this main nutritional complication when ≤5.05°.