Abstract
ABSTRACT
Background
Pre‐transplant sarcopenia predicts adverse outcomes in adult kidney transplant recipients. Whether this association extends to pediatric populations—who exhibit distinct immunological profiles, growth dynamics, and adherence challenges—remains unknown. We investigated the relationship between computed tomography (CT)‐quantified body composition and graft outcomes in children.
Methods
Single‐center retrospective cohort study of 46 pediatric kidney transplant recipients (age n
= 12).
Results
Transplant recipients had significantly lower SMA (61.05 vs. 65.54 cm
2
,
p
= 0.049), IMAT (0.80 vs. 1.72 cm
2
,
p
2
,
p
Conclusion
No statistically significant association was detected between pre‐transplant body composition parameters and adverse outcomes in this cohort of pediatric kidney transplant recipients. These preliminary findings suggest caution in directly extrapolating adult sarcopenia thresholds to children and highlight the need for larger, adequately powered pediatric studies to develop age‐specific risk stratification tools.