Body composition assessment using bioelectrical impedance analysis and computed tomography in patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy in Korea: a before and after study

Abstract

Purpose: This study focuses on the need for standardized body composition measurements in the hepatobiliarypancreatic field. It evaluates and compares the effectiveness of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and computed tomography (CT) scans in assessing body composition of patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy (PD), aiming to establish correlations among different body composition indexes.

Methods: Ninety-seven patients who underwent PD between August 2022 and March 2023, were enrolled in this study. Muscular and fatty parameters related to BIA and CT were assessed both preoperatively and on postoperative day 6. The correlation between each parameter related to muscle fat was analyzed according to the measurement modalities.

Results: There was an increase of skeletal muscle area (SMA), total muscle area, and low attenuated muscle area after surgery. Skeletal muscle mass (SMM) measured using BIA exhibited a strong correlation with the SMA and normal attenuated muscle area (NAMA) measured using CT (r=0.86, P<0.001; r=0.76, P<0.001). The trunk muscle measured using BIA demonstrated moderate to strong correlations with SMA and NAMA measured using CT (r=0.84 P<0.001; r=0.73, P<0.001). Body fat measured using BIA and total fat area (TFA) measured using CT showed strong correlations (r=0.74, P<0.001). In the postoperative analysis, a similar trend was observed (SMM vs. SMA: r=0.80, P<0.001; SMM vs. NAMA: r=0.70, P<0.001), (trunk muscle vs. SMA: r=0.79, P<0.001; trunk muscle vs. NAMA: r=0.69, P<0.001), and (body fat vs. TFA: r=0.83, P<0.001).

Conclusion: BIA, akin to CT, serves as a valuable tool for assessing body composition ratios in patients undergoing PD.