Introduction.

Gastric cancer represents a public health problem in Colombia considering its high incidence and high mortality rates. About 15% of patients suffer a significant weight loss, which is associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality.

Method.

A cross-sectional study was carried out in order to determine the presence of sarcopenia by measuring the psoas index by computed tomography and its association with early postoperative morbidity and mortality in patients with gastric cancer. Gastric cancer patients admitted between January 1, 2014 and August 31, 2019 at Hospital Militar Central, in Bogotá, D.C., Colombia were included. Descriptive analysis, bivariate analysis, and univariate logistic regression analysis were performed to determine the association of sarcopenia and complications at 30 days. All analyzes were performed in R®.

Results.

Seventy patients were studied, finding a frequency of sarcopenia of 54.3% (n=38), mean age of 69 years (IQR 54-74), higher proportion of men 68.6% (n=48), being lower in sarcopenia group 55.3% (n=21), psoas index of 0.63 mm (IQR 0.55 - 0.7), mortality 2.9% (n=2) and no association of sarcopenia with outcomes a 30 days (OR 1.2; 95% CI 0.59 - 2.4).

Discussion.

Similar results were found to those reported in the world literature, with a mortality of less than 3%. In this study, sarcopenia was not associated with the development of complications at 30 days.

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