Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2025
3D Ultrasound Imaging: Fast and Cost-effective Morphometry of Musculoskeletal Tissue
Published on: November 27, 2017
Acute Changes in Body Muscle Mass and Fat Depletion in Hospitalized Young Trauma Patients: A Descriptive
Hassan Al-Thani1, Bianca M Wahlen2, Ayman El-Menyar3,4
1Department of Surgery, Trauma & Vascular Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha P.O. Box 3050, Qatar.
Insights
Young trauma patients experience significant muscle and fat loss, particularly after abdominal surgery. Enteral feeding may exacerbate this loss compared to oral intake, highlighting the need for nutritional strategies.
Area of Science:
- Traumatology
- Nutritional Science
- Radiology
Background:
- Muscle mass and strength loss is linked to poor outcomes in various medical and surgical conditions.
- Young trauma patients are at risk of malnutrition due to hospital-related factors.
- Acute changes in muscle and fat in young trauma patients early post-admission are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the diagnosis, feeding status, and outcomes of muscle mass loss in young abdominal polytrauma patients.
- To explore changes in muscle and fat mass using computed tomography (CT) scans.
- To assess the impact of feeding strategies on muscle and fat depletion.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study of 138 young abdominal trauma patients with initial and follow-up CT scans one week apart.
- CT scan analysis (automatic and manual) to quantify abdominal muscle and fat.
- Evaluation of oral and enteral feeding adequacy and its correlation with CT-based parameters.
Main Results:
- Muscle and fat loss occurred in trauma patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery.
- Patients receiving enteral feeding showed a significant reduction in total psoas muscle area compared to those on oral feeding (p=0.001).
- Significant reductions in total psoas (p=0.001) and para-spinal muscle area (p=0.02) were observed in patients who underwent laparotomy.
Conclusions:
- Muscle and fat loss is common in young trauma patients, especially after laparotomy.
- Further research is needed to understand these changes in younger populations and the influence of nutritional status on clinical outcomes.
- These acute changes may represent early stages of trauma-related sarcopenia requiring further investigation.
Abstract:
Background: Loss of muscle mass, and its strength, is associated with adverse outcomes in many medical and surgical conditions. Trauma patients may get malnourished during their hospital course due to many interrelated contributing factors. However, there is insufficient knowledge on the acute muscle and fat changes in young trauma patients in the early days post-admission. Objective: to explore the diagnosis, feeding status, and outcome of muscle mass loss among young abdominal polytrauma patients. Methods: It was a retrospective study including hospitalized abdominal trauma patients who underwent an abdominal computerized tomographic (CT) examination initially and a follow-up one week later. CT scan-based automatic and manual analysis of the muscles and fat of the abdominal region was calculated and compared. Also, we evaluated the feeding and nutritional values to explore the adequacy of the provided calories and proteins and the potential influence of enteral feeding on the CT-based parameters for muscle loss and fat depletion. Results: There were 138 eligible subjects with a mean age of 32.8 ± 13.5 years; of them, 92% were males. Operative interventions were performed on two-thirds of the patients, including abdominal surgery (43%), orthopedic surgeries (34%), and neurosurgical procedures (8.1%). On admission, 56% received oral feeding, and this rate slightly increased to 58.4% after the first week. Enteral feed was prescribed for the remaining, except for two patients. The percentage of change in the total psoas muscle area was significantly reduced after one week of admission in patients on enteral feed as compared to those in the oral feeding group (p = 0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in the percentages of changes in the CT scan findings except for the total psoas muscle area (p = 0.001) and para-spinal muscle area (p = 0.02), which reduced significantly in the those who underwent laparotomy as compared to those who did not need laparotomy. Trauma patients who underwent emergency abdominal surgery lost muscle and fat over time. Conclusions: Loss of muscle mass and body fat is not uncommon among young trauma patients. Patients who underwent laparotomy are more likely to be affected. Further larger studies are needed to assess the specific features in the younger trauma population and how far this can be influenced by the nutrition status and its impact on the clinical outcomes. It could be early or impending stages of sarcopenia linked to trauma patients, or just acute changes in the muscle and fat, that need further investigation and follow-up after hospital discharge.
