PSYCHIATRIC AND SOCIAL OUTCOME OF LIVER-TRANSPLANTATION

Background. This study measures psychiatric morbidity, quality of life, and cognitive function after liver transplantation. Method. We undertook a cross-sectional study, with a longitudinal subgroup. The setting was a tertiary referral centre for liver transplantation. The subjects were 30 post-liver-transplantation patients, including 11 also interviewed before the operation. The main outcome measures were the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results. Of the patients, 8/30 were CIS cases, and 7/30 were GHQ cases. NHP scores were higher than a previous postal study indicated, with less impairment after than before transplant. MMSE scores were 24-30. Median GHQ was 7.0 before operation and 1.0 after operation (P=0.03), with no significant change in CIS score. Conclusion. Liver transplantation improves quality of life, but not to the level of the general population; post-transplantation patients have a prevalence of psychiatric morbidity comparable with that of general medical patients.