Limited Prognostic Value of Psoas Muscle Indices in Patients Undergoing Revascularization for Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia.
Background: Sarcopenia is linked with high rates of adverse surgical outcomes, and computed tomography angiography (CTA)-based psoas measurements are used as imaging sarcopenia surrogates. Their prognostic value in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) undergoing revascularization remains uncertain. Objectives: To evaluate whether CTA-derived psoas muscle indices predict complications and mortality after lower-limb revascularization for CLTI. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of consecutive adults who underwent open, hybrid, or endovascular revascularization for CLTI at a single tertiary center (March 2018-December 2021). Psoas muscle area (PMA) and density (PMD) were measured preoperatively on CTA at the mid-L3 vertebral level. Psoas muscle index (PMI) was calculated as PMA/height2. Patients were stratified by tertiles for each index (lowest tertile = "sarcopenic" vs. upper two tertiles). Outcomes included early in-hospital complications, late complications, overall complications, late mortality, and overall mortality. Group comparisons used χ2/Fisher tests with false discovery rate (FDR) adjustment; multivariable logistic regression with AIC-guided selection assessed independent predictors. Results: A total of 234 patients were included (median age 68 years; 65.4% men). Early complications occurred in 15.8%; late complications in 70.3%; overall mortality during follow-up was 26.6% (38/143 within follow-up data). In tertile analyses, none of the psoas-derived measures were significantly associated with early complications, late complications, overall complications, or mortality after FDR correction. Lower PMD showed consistent but non-significant trends toward higher late complications (84% vs. 64%), overall complications (87% vs. 72%), overall mortality (38% vs. 21%), and late mortality (37% vs. 20%) (all p < 0.05 unadjusted; all p_adj ≥ 0.139). In multivariable models, PMA, PMD, and PMI were not independent predictors of any outcome. Conclusions: In this retrospective cohort study, preoperative CTA-derived psoas indices were not independent predictors of early, late, or overall complications, nor of in-hospital or follow-up mortality after revascularization for chronic limb-threatening ischemia. Although lower psoas muscle density showed consistent trends toward higher risk, these associations did not reach statistical significance after adjustment. Taken together, our findings suggest that psoas-based measures have limited prognostic value in this setting and should be interpreted cautiously, while their potential role warrants confirmation in larger, prospective studies.
Authors
Halman Halman, Dybcio Dybcio, Myszczyński Myszczyński, Kimilu Kimilu, Blacha Blacha, Owedyk Owedyk, Wojciechowski Wojciechowski, Siemiński Siemiński
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