Nutritional Prehabilitation Across the Continuum of Care in Patients with Cirrhosis Awaiting Liver Transplantation
摘要
Malnutrition, sarcopenia, and frailty are highly prevalent in patients with cirrhosis awaiting liver transplantation (LT) and are strongly associated with waitlist dropout, postoperative complications, and mortality. Nutritional prehabilitation has emerged as a feasible strategy to preserve muscle mass, improve functional capacity, and optimize transplant readiness. The aim of this review was to operationalize nutritional prehabilitation across the full continuum of care in patients with cirrhosis awaiting LT.
Recent FindingsPrehabilitation has emerged as a feasible and safe strategy in patients with cirrhosis awaiting LT, but the nutritional pillar remains relatively understudied. Established nutrition guidelines in cirrhosis provide a basis for nutritional prehabilitation but do not provide a structured approach to nutritional prehabilitation across the frequent transitions between outpatient, inpatient, and critical care settings.
SummaryNutritional prehabilitation should be framed as a dynamic, continuous process rather than a fixed intervention. This review provides clinicians with a practical, setting-specific roadmap to optimize nutritional care throughout the LT waitlist journey.