Characteristics of the recipients and living donors at baseline
| Variable | Recipients | Living donors | p-value# |
| Number of patients n | 35 | 35 | |
| Indications for lung transplantation | |||
| Interstitial lung disease | 21 (60%) | – | |
| Lung injury after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation | 9 (26%) | – | |
| Idiopathic pulmonary artery hypertension | 2 (6%) | – | |
| Bronchiectasis | 2 (6%) | – | |
| Idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis | 1 (3%) | – | |
| Smoking history (+) | 15 (43%) | 13 (37%) | 0.63 |
| mMRC score 0/1/2/3/4 n | 0/0/0/16/19 | 33/2/0/0/0 | <0.001 |
| Female | 19 (54%) | 19 (54%) | 1 |
| Age years | 46.8±13.2 (18–63) | 45.1±10.9 (21–60) | 0.50 |
| Height m | 1.60±0.09 (1.28–1.72) | 1.63±0.06 (1.52–1.77) | 0.11 |
| Weight kg | 48.0±10.8 (30.4–72.9) | 60.9±9.4 (45.5–78.8) | <0.001 |
| BMI kg·m−2 | 18.5±3.3 (12.2–25.2) | 22.6±2.8 (17.8–29.6) | <0.001 |
| Albumin g·dL−1 | 3.6±0.6 (2.0–5.0) | 4.3±0.3 (3.7–5.2) | <0.001 |
| VC % predicted | 44.6±17.2 (16.9–88.0)¶ | 108.9±17.8 (85.1–169.8) | <0.001 |
| FEV1/FVC % | 77.2±23.8 (21.1–100.0)¶ | 82.5±5.5 (70.8–92.8) | 0.21 |
| FEV1 % predicted | 38.9±19.0 (15.0–86.6)¶ | 104.4±13.6 (81.6–131.8) | <0.001 |
| DLCO % predicted | 24.1±14.5 (7.3–63.2)+ | 92.7±10.3 (75.3–114.8) | <0.001 |
| 6MWD m | 209.0±104.3 (19.0–380.0)¶ | 585.2±86.4 (400.0–736.0)ƒ | <0.001 |
| ESMCSA cm2 | 23.0±7.2 (11.3–39.9) | 30.5±6.9 (19.7–45.8) | <0.001 |
| ESMCT HU | 45.4±9.8 (13.8–59.8) | 46.6±7.2 (30.9–57.6) | 0.56 |
| Quadriceps force Nm·kg-1 | 2.11±0.71 (0.82–3.48)§ | – | |
| Procedure of LDLLT | |||
| Single/double LTx n | 2/33 | – | |
| Right/left lower lobectomy n | – | 18/17 | |
| Predicted postoperative VC % predicted | 61.6±15.1 (40.3–104.8) | – | |
Data are presented as n (%) or mean±sd (range), unless otherwise stated. mMRC: modified Medical Research Council; BMI: body mass index; VC: vital capacity; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC: forced vital capacity; DLCO: diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide; 6MWD: 6-min walk distance; ESMCSA: cross-sectional area of the erector spinae muscles; ESMCT: mean computed tomography values of the erector spinae muscles. #: Chi-squared test or t-test; ¶: number of valid observations, 27; +: number of valid observations, 14; §: number of valid observations, 26; ƒ: number of valid observations, 33.