P457 - NUTRITION INTERVENTION INCREASES ADDUCTOR POLLICIS MUSCLE THICKNESS IN PATIENTS WITH CIRRHOSIS: SECONDARY RESULTS FROM A MULTI-CENTER, RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

P457

NUTRITION INTERVENTION INCREASES ADDUCTOR POLLICIS MUSCLE THICKNESS IN PATIENTS WITH CIRRHOSIS: SECONDARY RESULTS FROM A MULTI-CENTER, RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

B. C. Santos^1,*, A. L. M. dos Santos¹, B. S. Rocha², C. M. Prado³, M. I. T. D. Correia⁴, L. R. Anastácio¹

¹Food Science Graduate Program, ²Nutrition Department, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, ³Department of Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, ⁴Surgery Graduate Program, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Rationale: Low muscle mass is common in advanced cirrhosis and linked to poor outcomes. Leucine (LEU) is a promising supplement to prevent muscle loss, but its efficacy is unclear. We used adductor pollicis muscle thickness (APMT) as a surrogate marker of muscle mass to assess the impact of LEU supplementation in patients undergoing evaluation for liver transplant.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a multicenter, randomized, double-masked clinical trial of 3-month LEU supplementation (7.5 g/day, provided within 40 g of chocolate) vs. 40 g/day of chocolate without LEU. Both groups received individualized nutritional counseling and a dietary plan at baseline, based on current nutritional guidelines for this population. APMT was measured on the non-dominant hand using a standardized protocol. Adjusted generalized estimating equation models were used to assess within- and between-group differences.

Results: 49 patients were included (77.6% male; median age 53.0 years [47.0–60.0]). Median protocol adherence was 66.0% (2.5 - 92.0). Although LEU supplementation had no significant effect on APMT, a significant effect of time was observed, with an increase in APMT from 23.0 mm (21.4 - 24.9) at baseline to 24.0 mm (21.0 - 26.6) at three months (p = 0.008).

Conclusion: APMT increased modestly but significantly over time in both groups, suggesting a potential benefit of nutritional counseling and daily chocolate consumption (common to both groups) on muscle mass in this complex patient population.

Funding: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) APQ-02444-21

Disclosure of Interest: None declared