Preoperative sarcopenia and malnutrition are correlated with poor long-term survival after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair

Sarcopenia and malnutrition are often used as surrogates for frailty, which is predictive of poor prognosis after surgery. We investigated the effects of sarcopenia and malnutrition on mortality after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). The subjects of this study were patients who underwent EVAR at our hospital between June 2007 and December 2013, excluding those who underwent reintervention. The psoas muscle area at the L4 level was used as an indicator of sarcopenia. The Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index was used as an indicator of malnutrition. There were 324 patients included in the study, with a mean age of 78.1 years and a median follow-up period of 56.7 months. Multivariate analysis revealed that sarcopenia (HR, 1.79; p = .042) and malnutrition (HR, 1.78; p = .043) were independent prognostic factors. Patients with both factors were classified as the high-risk group and others were classified as the low-risk group. The survival rate was significantly lower in the high-risk group than in the low-risk groups (p < .001). Even after propensity score matching, the high-risk group had a significantly lower survival rate (p < .001). Both sarcopenia and malnutrition were associated with long-term mortality after EVAR. Patients with both indicators had a poor mid-term survival.