Does oral cobalamin treat and prevent deficiency in pediatric intestinal failure?

Methods: This prospective study included IBD patients referred for colectomy, who were assessed around the time of their surgery and at a one-year follow-up.Sarcopenia was evaluated using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to determine the appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI), and grip strength was also measured Results: The mean age of the patients was 43 years (range: 18-80), with the study population consisting of 13 males and 7 females.DXA detected sarcopenia in 13 out of 20 patients (65%) at the initial visit.At the one-year follow-up, 4 out of the 14 patients (29%) continued to exhibit sarcopenia.ASMI improved following colectomy, increasing from a mean of 6.15 at the initial visit to 6.86 at follow-up (p = 0.011).An improvement in grip strength was similarly observed after adjusting for age and gender, with the mean Z-score increasing from -0.80 at the initial visit to -0.39 at follow-up (p = 0.041).Conclusions: This study indicates a high prevalence of sarcopenia among patients with treatment-refractory disease.Colectomy appears to have the potential to improve muscle mass and muscle strength; however, the prevalence of sarcopenia remains significant one-year post-surgery.