Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2010 Feb;156(2):270-6.e1.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.08.048. Epub 2009 Oct 28.

Cross-sectional analysis of health-related quality of life in pediatric liver transplant recipients

Estella M Alonso  1 , Christine A Limbers, Katie Neighbors, Karen Martz, John C Bucuvalas, Thomas Webb, James W Varni; Studies of Pediatric Liver Transplantation (SPLIT) Functional Outcomes Group (FOG)
Collaborators, Affiliations
Comparative Study

Cross-sectional analysis of health-related quality of life in pediatric liver transplant recipients

Estella M Alonso et al. J Pediatr. 2010 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the distribution of health-related quality of life in pediatric liver transplant recipients compared with a normative population.

Study design: This cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted at select centers. Patients between 2 and 18 years of age, surviving liver transplantation by at least 12 months, were eligible. Parent/guardian fluency in English or Spanish was required. Children > or =8 years and parents of all children completed the age-appropriate versions of the PedsQL 4.0 (Mapi Research Institute, Lyon, France). Scores were compared with a sample of healthy children (n = 3911) matched by age group, sex, and race/ethnicity and with a sample of pediatric patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation.

Results: Participants included 65% (873/1339) of eligible patients. Mean age was 8.17 +/- 4.43 years, and 55% were female. The total and subscale scores of PedsQL 4.0 were lower than in healthy children (P < .001), with effect sizes for self-report ranging from -0.25 for Emotional Functioning to -0.68 for School Functioning. Patients and their parents reported better physical functioning than patients with cancer but similar social and school functioning. Correlations between parent and self-reports were in the moderate agreement range.

Conclusions: Pediatric liver transplant recipients and their parents report lower health-related quality of life than control subjects with some domains equal to children receiving cancer therapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. McDiarmid SV, Anand R, Lindblad AS. Studies of Pediatric Liver Transplantation: 2002 update. An overview of demographics, indications, timing, and immunosuppressive practices in pediatric liver transplantation in the United States and Canada. Pediatr Transplant. 2004;8:284–94. - PubMed
    1. Alonso EM, Neighbors K, Mattson C, Sweet E, Ruch-Ross H, Berry C, et al. Functional outcomes of pediatric liver transplantation. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2003;37:155–60. - PubMed
    1. Apajasalo M, Rautonen J, Sintonen H, Holmberg C. Health-related quality of life after organ transplantation in childhood. Pediatr Transplant. 1997;1:130–7. - PubMed
    1. Asonuma K, Inomata Y, Uemoto S, Egawa H, Kiuchi T, Okajima H, et al. Growth and quality of life after living-related liver transplantation in children. Pediatr Transplant. 1998;2:64–9. - PubMed
    1. Bucuvalas JC, Britto M, Krug S, Ryckman FC, Atherton H, Alonso MP, et al. Health-related quality of life in pediatric liver transplant recipients: A single-center study. Liver Transpl. 2003;9:62–71. - PubMed

Publication types