Pulmonary embolism and sarcopenia: The potential interplay

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Sarcopenia is a medical condition associated with skeletal muscle mass disorder. It might be related to poor and adverse outcomes including disability, hospitalization, increased mortality and morbidity. Pulmonary embolism (PE) is considered as the third most usual cause of cardiovascular death globally, after other adverse clinical conditions such as stroke and heart attack. METHODS This study investigated the upcoming association between sarcopenia and pulmonary embolism via a non-systematic review. RESULTS It is demonstrated by the existing literature that sarcopenia might be related to 30 days mortality in subjects with acute PE and additionally with in-hospital mortality. Sarcopenic subjects seem to be at increased risk for a deep vein thrombus (DVT) or PE, while rates of cardiorespiratory complications, among them PE, in sarcopenic colon cancer subjects were higher than cardiorespiratory complication rates in non-sarcopenic. Nevertheless, one study demonstrated that if skeletal muscle index (SMI) is increased by five points, the odds of PE are also increased. CONCLUSIONS More studies are necessary to validate these outcomes and provide us with specific information about the upcoming intriguing interplay between these two potentially life-threatening conditions.