title: Quality of life after liver transplantation--preliminary report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Liver transplantation (OLTx) is an optimal method of treatment of end-stage liver failure. It gives a chance to get back to an active life. 80-90% of patients survive over 1 year after liver transplantation with a perspective of a long life.Recently more attention is being paid to health related quality of life (QoL). It is considered as a combination of physical and mental condition, social and economical state and somatic experience. The aim of the study was to analyze patient's QoL after OLTx compared to the condition before OLTx.
  
  
  METHODS
  123 patients 1-12 years after transplantation were included in the study. The study was conducted in Outpatients Clinic of Immunology, Transplantology and Internal Medicine Department and Transplantation Medicine and Nephrology Department of Warsaw Medical University between October 2007 and January 2008. Original questionnaire was used, consisting of 8 general questions and 44 detailed questions concerning pre- and posttransplant period. Information about physical condition (health, mobility, basic functions, drug side effects), mental condition (anxiety, happiness, cognition disorders), social function (family, friends, work) and economic status were gathered. "Never, sometimes, often, very often" score was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Majority of subjects de fi ned their quality of life and physical condition before transplantation as poor, and post transplantation - as good. The respondent's mental condition didn't differ much before and after transplantation. Level of satisfaction was higher after transplantation. Health condition in some cases affected patients' family life, however it often devastated their social life before OLTx. Most patients were on disability pension and after transplantation they indicated the influence of health on their financial condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The quality of life after liver transplantation gets better and it's de fi ned as good or very good. During the analysis of QoL a difference between conditions before and after LTX wasn't observed.
authors.affiliation: Departament of Surgical & Transplant Nursing medical University of Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Łaba
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pszenny
authors.forename: Dominika
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gutowska
authors.forename: Maurycy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jonas
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Durlik
authors.forename: Leszek
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Paczek
authors.forename: Dariusz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wasiak
authors.forename: Jarosław
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Czerwiński
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Małkowski
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety; D001290:Attitude; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders; D004651:Employment; D005221:Fatigue; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006240:Happiness; D006304:Health Status; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008019:Life Style; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011044:Poland; D011788:Quality of Life; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors