Sarcopenia assessment integrating nutritional screening and anthropometry in allcomers inpatients: a single-center study from a general surgery clinic

Résumé fourni par la source

Sarcopenia is prevalent conditions associated with adverse surgical outcomes, yet its detection in hospitalized patients often relies on subjective screening tools with limited sensitivity. This study aims to describe the prevalence of probable sarcopenia and the distribution of SARC-F classifications, and to quantify discordance indicating potential under-recognition when relying on body mass index and SARC-F alone. In this prospective observational study, all consecutive patients admitted to the general surgery clinic of a tertiary university hospital between May and June 2025 were evaluated. Sarcopenia risk was evaluated using the SARC-F questionnaire and anthropometric measurements, including mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), calf circumference (CC), and handgrip strength (HGS). Sex-specific EWGSOP2 thresholds were applied to classify probable sarcopenia. Based on SARC-F scores, only 2.9% of patients were classified as being at risk of sarcopenia. In contrast, HGS testing identified probable sarcopenia in 36.2% of the cohort including 47/127 men (37.0%) and 51/144 women (35.4%). The sensitivity of SARC-F ≥ 4 for identifying HGS-defined probable sarcopenia was 8.2% (8/98), with specificity 100% (173/173). A total of 10 patients (3.7%) were classified as underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m 2 ), while 261 patients had a BMI ≥ 18.5 kg/m 2 . In 84 obese patients (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ), 28 patients (33.3%) had low handgrip strength, corresponding to obesity with low muscle strength. This study demonstrates that reliance on SARC-F or BMI alone may substantially underestimate sarcopenia in surgical inpatients. Integrating HGS testing into routine assessments improves detection of sarcopenia risk and may facilitate earlier nutritional and rehabilitative interventions. A multimodal approach combining subjective screening tools with objective functional measures should be adopted to optimize perioperative care.

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