Nutritional assessment in patients with liver cirrhosis

Table 1 Comparison between body composition testing modalities

Modality	Accuracy	Advantage	Disadvantage
Anthropometry	Low	Simple, rapid, not affected by fluid retention	Interobserver variability
BIA	Moderate	Easy, portable, relatively inexpensive	Influenced by volume status, requires special equipment
Ultrasound	Moderate to high	Inexpensive, radiation-free, bedside	Interobserver variability
DEXA scan	High	Suitable for repeat testing	Radiation exposure & high cost (but less than CT scan)
CT scan	High	Allows direct assessment of muscle mass	Radiation and contrast exposure, high cost
MRI	High	No radiation exposure, allows direct assessment of muscle mass	Expensive, lacks cut-off values

BIA: Bioelectrical impedance analysis; DEXA: Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry; CT: Computed tomography; MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.