Health-related quality of life following liver transplantation.
The objectives of this study were to report on the health-related quality of life (QoL) experienced by patients following liver transplantation and to investigate the factors associated with its variation. A questionnaire comprising the SF-36 and EuroQol EQ-5D instruments was sent by post to 147 patients who had received a liver transplant, indicated by a chronic liver disease, in the previous 8 years. The scores of the respondents were compared to population norm scores. The variation in both the SF-36 and EQ-5D scores was explored. Many liver transplant patients experienced most satisfactory QoL levels post-transplantation although, in general terms, the levels were poorer than those seen in the general population. The variation in the post-transplant health-related QoL scores was found to be associated with a number of pre-transplant factors: disease severity (proxied by Child Pugh class), disease duration at the time of transplantation and liver transplant history (whether the patient had received a single or multiple transplants). In making clinical decisions about the use of transplantation for chronic liver diseases, consideration should be given to the key factors likely to affect subsequent health-related QoL.
Bryan
S
S
Health Economics Research Group, Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK.
Ratcliffe
J
J
Neuberger
J M
JM
Burroughs
A K
AK
Gunson
B K
BK
Buxton
M J
MJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires