title: Health-related quality of life in pediatric liver transplanted patients compared with a chronic liver disease group.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Achieving a good health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is currently one of the main aims in long term survival of liver transplanted children (PLT). Purpose of our study is to compare HRQoL of PLT patients (N = 33, mean age 12.8 y) vs. sex and age matched patients with compensated and clinically stable chronic liver disease (CLD) (N = 25, mean age 11.9 y).
  
  
  METHODS
  HRQoL was measured from both patient and parental perspectives using the CHQ-CF87 and CHQ-PF50 questionnaires, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  General Health Perception scores of PLT subjects resulted significantly lower than those of CLD both at self- and parental report (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). No other significant differences in other HRQoL domains were found between groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that the two populations are quite similar regarding HRQoL, but both parents and children of PLT group perceive a worse general health. Further studies are needed to confirm these results.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Education Science, Suor Orsola Benincasa University, Naples, Italy. antonella.gritti@unisob.na.it.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gritti
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pisano
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Salvati
authors.forename: Nicolina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Di Cosmo
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Iorio
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vajro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D058625:End Stage Liver Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods; D011788:Quality of Life; D012016:Reference Values; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
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