Improvement in quality of life after lung transplantation: a preliminary study. The University of Washington Medical Center Lung Transplant Study Group.
BACKGROUND
Lung transplantation is an expensive therapeutic option for a number of endstage conditions. Improving health-related quality of life is an important objective of transplantation.


METHODS
We report quality of life measurements in 21 waiting list patients and 23 patients after transplantation with seven different pulmonary conditions using two standardized instruments: the Sickness Impact Profile and the standard gamble.


CONCLUSIONS
This cross-sectional study indicates the following: (1) overall quality of life improves significantly after transplantation; (2) although most dimensions of functional disability improve after transplantation, some aspects may suffer; (3) quality of life gains after transplantation may not be equal for all pretransplantation conditions.
Ramsey
S D
SD
Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
Patrick
D L
DL
Lewis
S
S
Albert
R K
RK
Raghu
G
G
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016040:Lung Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life