Assessment of quality of life after simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation

Abstract

It is unclear if simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplantation adds to the general quality of life (QOL) achieved with kidney transplantation alone (KTA). This case-controlled study matched 27 successful SPK transplant recipients with 27 successful KTA recipients. Cases were matched for gender, age (+/- 7 years), and year of transplant (+/- 2 years). Both groups had type 1 diabetes and end-stage renal disease. Diabetes-related QOL was assessed using the Diabetes Quality of Life (DQOL) questionnaire. General QOL was assessed using Medical Outcome Health Survey Short Form-36 (SF-36) and Quality of Well Being (QWB) questionnaires. Morbidity data were obtained through chart review. There was a trend for a lower prevalence of coronary artery disease (5 of 27 versus 13 of 27) and peripheral vascular disease (5 of 27 versus 9 of 27) in SPK recipients (P = not significant). Satisfaction with diabetes-related QOL was significantly better in SPK recipients (1.8 +/- 0.5 versus 2.3 +/- 0.5; P < 0.05). SPK and KTA recipients' SF-36 physical (66 +/- 21 and 64 +/- 19) and mental (76 +/- 17 and 71 +/- 22) composite scores were similar. QWB scores also were similar for SPK (0.67 +/- 0.12) and KTA (0.63 +/- 0.10) recipients. In the first 3 months after transplantation, SPK recipients had a significantly higher number of hospital admissions per patient (1.9 +/- 0.9 versus 1.4 +/- 0.6; P < 0.05), more hospital days per patient (25.1 +/- 13.8 days versus 10.1 +/- 4.4 days; P < 0.005), and more intensive care unit days per patient (7.9 +/- 7.1 days versus 0.8 +/- 1.5 days; P < 0.005). Although SPK transplantation enhanced diabetes-related QOL, there was no improvement in overall QOL.