Abstract
Currently, the issues of sarcopenia and/or developing sarcopenic obesity in patients with severe injuries are receiving increasing attention. Weight loss, primarily due to reduced muscle mass, is a common comorbid condition in patients with severe illnesses and injuries and is closely associated with an unfavorable disease prognosis as well as with complications that may limit subsequent active rehabilitation. A major obstacle to analyzing sarcopenia development following trauma is the lack of consensus on its definition and diagnostic criteria.At present, assessment of patient’s body composition is limited to anthropometric and radiological modalities, which only allow confirmation of the presence of sarcopenia. However, identification of prognostic biomarkers and biological phenotypes in injured patients allow to detect mild metabolic changes at the early stages of pathological processes. For example, the plasma metabolomic profile can directly reflect metabolic disorders associated with muscle atrophy, as plasma is the main carrier of metabolites. The present review analyzes studies on laboratory assessment of nutritional status and skeletal muscle condition in patients who have sustained severe trauma, as well as to the experimental works animal studies evaluating levels of individual amino acids in blood plasma and their effects on muscle mass.The review underscores the need to identify early diagnostic criteria for monitoring body composition in patients after severe trauma, which is essential for developing new therapeutic strategies aimed at correcting the identified disorders.