Quality of lifeQuality of life after lung transplantation: A cross-sectional study
Section snippets
Study population and procedures
Between April and July 2001, all living patients who had ever received a lung transplant at the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Vienna, were considered for inclusion in this cross-sectional study. The recipients had to fulfill several criteria: age >18 years; the ability to read and understand German; and an elapsed period of >3 months after transplant.
The patients were given a study kit during their check-up visit to the outpatient department. The study kit included a set
Demographic and clinical data
One hundred eight lung transplant patients were included in the study, of whom 94 returned the study package (response rate 87%). Demographic and clinical data are presented in Table 1.
Quality of life
Data from the SGRQ demonstrated statistically lower rates of respiratory problems among lung transplantat recipients as compared with reference values for patients with obstructive pulmonary disease. Consequently, all sub-scale and total scale groups of our patients demonstrated a significantly higher standard
Discussion
The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to document quality of life for lung-transplanted patients in a comprehensive manner. The patients were questioned using standardized, self-developed questionnaires, and the results were compared with normative data from the general population. The results reflect a high quality of life and satisfaction with the outcome of transplantation, although the patients suffered from the side effects of immunosuppression and from psychologic symptoms.
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2020, Transplantation ProceedingsCitation Excerpt :These are particularly important for patients whose mental state temporarily collapsed or collapsed long term after LTx, especially during acute deterioration of graft function or chronic lung allograft dysfunction. The results obtained from SGRQ in our study are convergent to those demonstrated in a study by Smeritschnig [19] among patients after LTx for symptoms, activity, impact component, and total score (32.76% ± 26.07 vs 21.1% ± 18.5; 35.83% ± 28.97 vs 36.9% ± 25.0; 26.39% ± 18.67% vs 20.7% ± 18.3; 30.24% ± 20.87 vs 24.4% ± 18.3; respectively). Normative mean values for Spain’s general population with no history of lung disease in SGRQ are: 12.00%, 9.00%, 2.00%, and 6.00%, respectively, for symptoms, activity, impacts, and total score [20].