Excessive alcohol intake is associated with the development of alcoholic hepatitis. There are several risk factors for the development of alcoholic hepatitis. The current study assessed the link between sarcopenia and severity, mortality, 30 days readmission rate, complication, infections and length of hospital stay among patients with alcoholic hepatitis.

This was a retrospective analysis conducted at a large, academic hospital with 194 alcoholic hepatitis patients aged 18-60 years. Patients underwent cross-sectional computed tomography imaging and fulfilled the clinical definition of alcoholic hepatitis.

The Model for End-Stage Liver disease score was higher in the sarcopenia group, compared to the non-sarcopenia group. Sarcopenia was also associated with significantly longer hospital stay, with the average length of stay being 17.2 days in the sarcopenia group compared to 12.4 days in the non-sarcopenia patients. The risk of developing pneumonia, sepsis and hepatic encephalopathy was also higher in sarcopenic patients.

Sarcopenia was therefore found to be linked with worse outcomes in alcoholic hepatitis patients in terms of severe alcoholic hepatitis, longer hospital stays, higher risk of developing pneumonia, sepsis and hepatic encephalopathy.

Source: Al-Azzawi Y, Albo B, Fasullo M, et al. Sarcopenia is associated with longer hospital stay and multiorgan dysfunction in alcoholic hepatitis. European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology 2020;32(6):733-38.