https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4473-3244
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Vildan Binay Safer, Umut Safer, Comment on: Sarcopenia is a Novel Predictor of the Need for Rescue Therapy in Hospitalised Ulcerative Colitis Patients, Journal of Crohn's and Colitis, Volume 12, Issue 10, October 2018, Page 1255, https://doi.org/10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjy078
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We read with great interest the article by Cushing and colleagues, who reported that sarcopenia as determined on abdominal computed tomography (CT) was a novel predictor of need for rescue therapy in acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC).1 The results are particularly important as this study addressed the impact of sarcopenia on medical or surgical rescue therapy among patients hospitalised for ASUC and, to the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to study the prevalence and predictive value of sarcopenia in this population. Nevertheless, some methodological concerns need to be acknowledged.
First, the method of diagnosing sarcopenia in the current study was only defined by the calculation of the cross-sectional area of abdominal wall skeletal musculature at the level of the third lumbar (L3) vertebral body via computed tomography. According to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP), sarcopenia is the presence of both low muscle mass and low muscle function (strength or performance).2 Cushing and colleagues do not report results for the muscle function of patients. Standardisation of the terminology is critical for generalising the results of the studies. So the assignment of sarcopenia in this work seems to be suboptimal.
