Contributory roles of sarcopenia and myosteatosis in development of overt hepatic encephalopathy and mortality after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt.

Background: Skeletal muscle abnormalities, such as muscle mass depletion (sarcopenia) and fatty infiltration of the muscle (myosteatosis), are frequent complications in cirrhotic patients scheduled for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS).

Aim: To investigate the association and predictive value of sarcopenia and myosteatosis for overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and mortality after TIPS.

Methods: The records of cirrhotic patients who underwent the TIPS procedure at our hospital between January 2020 and June 2021 were retrospectively retrieved.