The effect of sarcopenia on lung transplant patients with COVID-19.

배경: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in immunocompromised patients has become an important issue as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has continuously spread. Sarcopenia is associated with a worse prognosis in COVID-19 and prevalent in lung transplant patients. This study aimed to investigate the difference in clinical outcomes according to sarcopenia in lung transplant patients with COVID-19. 방법: This study included patients who diagnosed as COVID-19 from December 2021 to May 2022 after lung transplantation in Severance Hospital. Thoracic muscle volume was measured using the cross-sectional area of the pectoralis, paraspinal, serratus, and latissimus muscles at the fourth vertebral region and the erector spinae muscle at the 12th vertebral region using the computed tomography (CT) scan after COVID-19. Multivariate logistic analysis was conducted to identify the associated factors with sarcopenia in lung transplant patients with COVID-19. 결과: Sixty-one patients with COVID-19 after lung transplantation were enrolled in this study and forty-two patients (68.9%) had sarcopenia. In the sarcopenic group, the length of stays was longer (12 days; inter-quartile range [IQR], 6-34 and 5.5 days; IQR, 5-12; P = 0.017), and there was no case of in-hospital death and invasive mechanical ventilator application in non-sarcopenic group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that forced expiratory volume before COVID-19 and serum albumin were associated with sarcopenia. Thirteen of the patients in the sarcopenic group underwent subsequent CT scans after a median of 12 days, and the thoracic muscle index showed a further decreasing trend. 결론: In lung transplant patients with COVID-19, sarcopenia is frequently accompanied and might be associated with a worse prognosis. Assessment and interventions for sarcopenia is needed to improve the prognosis of lung transplant patients with COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]