Relationship of phase angle and skeletal muscle index in patients with liver cirrhosis of different etiologies

Introduction. Sarcopenia is common among patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) and has a significant impact on the quality of life of patients, the nature of the course of the disease and mortality. The phase angle (PhA) is the arctangent of the ratio of reactive and active resistances for a variable frequency current obtained using bioimpedance analysis. Data on the relationship between PhA and sarcopenia are limited, so the analysis of this topic is the important step towards understanding the role of sarcopenia in LC.

The objective was to evaluate the relationship between the values of the phase angle and the index of skeletal musculature obtained by CT volumetry in patients with LC.

Methods and materials. The study included 15 patients diagnosed with LC. The anthropometric examination was carried out, followed by an assessment of the component composition of the patients’ body using the ABC-01 «Medass» device (STC Medass, Russia). According to the indications, all patients underwent CT of the abdominal cavity without contrast enhancement.

Results. Median and interquartile interval PhA (°): 5.3 [4.2–5.7] in men and 5.2 [4.9–6.1] in women, skeletal muscle index (cm2/m2): 51.82 [48.33–53.75] cm2/m2 in men and 44.114 [38.9–49.32] cm2/m2 in women. The correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation of the average strength between the skeletal muscle index (cm2/m2) and PhA (°): r=0.2619, p-value=0.036845.

Conclusion. Determination of the components of body composition and their relationship with the course of diseases in patients with LC may have practical application and requires further study.

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