Thoracic transplantationThe Quality of Life of Patients on the Lung Transplantation Waiting List
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
Our sample consisted of LTx candidates who were selected for presenting irreversible lung disease—end-stage lung disease—with a life expectancy from 1 to 2 years. International criteria were adopted to select patients according to their pretransplant lung disease.
After having placed the patients on the LTx waiting list the QoL evaluation was performed by administering two questionnaires, of which one was generic and the other disease-specific. The instruments that assessed general health status
Results
The 50 patients were divided according to the diagnoses of emphysema (n = 16), bronchiectasis (n = 12), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (n = 7), and cystic fibrosis (n = 15). The demographic characteristics are shown in Table 1.
Discussion
The results of this study are preliminary, being limited by the small number of patients in the sample. Nonetheless, we noted that patients with advanced pneumonopathies on the LTx waiting list showed great impairments in their QoL due to health status. In the SGRQ, the questions are geared toward symptoms, activities, and emotional impacts related to the disease. Since all patients have serious pneumonopathies, it was expected that these domains would be seriously affected. All subjects
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Prevalence and characteristics of pain in patients awaiting lung transplantation
2015, Journal of Pain and Symptom ManagementCitation Excerpt :Two studies focusing on pretransplant quality of life have shed some light on the prevalence of pain in this population. Feltrim et al.1 assessed pain using the specific domain of the Short-Form 36 Health Survey and found that the limitations caused by pain significantly affected the bronchiectasis group and that the CF group was less affected. Dobbels et al.2 assessed the perceived health status among solid organ transplant candidates using the European Quality of Life (EuroQoL) scale; 67% of the lung transplant candidates reported moderate problems in the pain/discomfort dimension and 16% severe problems.
Quality of life assessment in two consecutive years of patients in a waiting list for lung transplantation
2014, Transplantation ProceedingsCitation Excerpt :This study demonstrates that after 2 years on a waiting list the physical-functional aspects are still the most affected components for these patients. All of the patients on a waiting list present dyspnea and/or cough as main symptoms, limiting their mobility and leading to muscular weakness and inactivity [8]. Our data show that Vitality, Social, Emotional Aspects, and Mental Health had high scores (better QoL reference) and did not change in 2 years.
Recommendations for the use of extended criteria donors in lung transplantation
2011, Transplantation ProceedingsCitation Excerpt :On the other hand, the number of transplantations performed is less than desirable,34 especially when taking into consideration the potential inhabitants. As in other terminal diseases, patients on the waiting list for lung transplantation have severe quality-of-life problems, especially related to physical functioning.35 To reduce time on the waiting list, several centers are investigating new technologies such as ex vivo pulmonary reconditioning technologies.
Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion: Early Report of Brazilian Experience
2010, Transplantation ProceedingsLung Transplantation for Cystic Fibrosis and Non-cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis: A Single-Center Experience
2019, Transplantation ProceedingsCitation Excerpt :Whereas the number of lung transplants performed for non-CF bronchiectasis is much smaller than for CF, few data are available on patient selection, choice of procedure, and outcomes [5]. Patients with advanced bronchiectasis, both CF- and non-CF--related, have a poor quality of life and an increasing risk of death as lung function progressively falls [6–8]. Declining pulmonary function with hypercapnia, resting hypoxemia, and/or pulmonary hypertension are indications for initiating a lung transplant evaluation [9,10].