[Relationship between Early Complications after Radical Cystectomy and Psoas Muscle Mass]

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Geriatric Medicine
• Sarcopenia Research

Background:

• Psoas muscle mass index (PMI) is a recognized indicator of sarcopenia.
• Sarcopenia, age-related muscle loss, can impact surgical outcomes.
• Radical cystectomy is a major surgical procedure often performed on elderly patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between preoperative psoas muscle mass index (PMI) and early postoperative complications after radical cystectomy.
• To determine if PMI can serve as a predictive marker for surgical outcomes in elderly patients undergoing this procedure.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 71 male and 29 female patients aged 65 years or older who underwent radical cystectomy.
• Manual measurement of psoas muscle cross-sectional area on preoperative CT scans.
• Normalization of psoas muscle area by patient height to calculate PMI.
• Comparison of PMI between patients with and without grade 3 or higher early postoperative complications.

Main Results:

• Early postoperative complications (grade ≥3) occurred in 16.9% of males and 17.2% of females.
• Male patients who experienced early complications had a lower mean PMI (5.61 cm²/m²) compared to those without complications (6.54 cm²/m²).
• The difference in PMI between complication and no-complication groups in males was not statistically significant (p=0.08).

Conclusions:

• A trend suggests a potential relationship between lower preoperative PMI and increased early postoperative complications in elderly male patients undergoing radical cystectomy.
• Preoperative PMI may be a relevant factor to consider in the risk assessment for radical cystectomy patients.
• Further prospective studies are warranted to validate the predictive value of PMI for postoperative complications.