Quality of Life and Employment after Liver Transplantation
Santiago Tome
Liver Transplantation Unit, University Hospital, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Search for more papers by this authorEsteban Otero
Liver Transplantation Unit, University Hospital, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Search for more papers by this authorMichael Ronan Lucey
Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
Search for more papers by this authorSantiago Tome
Liver Transplantation Unit, University Hospital, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Search for more papers by this authorEsteban Otero
Liver Transplantation Unit, University Hospital, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Search for more papers by this authorMichael Ronan Lucey
Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
Search for more papers by this authorJames Neuberger DM, FRCP
Honorary Consultant Physician
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK
Search for more papers by this authorJames Ferguson MD, FRCPE
Consultant Hepatologist
Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Hon Reader in Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Search for more papers by this authorPhilip N. Newsome PhD, FRCPE
Professor of Experimental Hepatology and Director of the Centre for Liver and Gastrointestinal Research Consultant Transplant Hepatologist
University of Birmingham
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK
Search for more papers by this authorMichael Ronan Lucey MD, FRCPI
Professor of Medicine and Chief
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
Search for more papers by this authorSummary
Liver transplantation (LT) has become a successful life-saving intervention for many patients with end-stage liver disease. Due to the excellent extended survival, more attention has been focused among survivors on issues related to both long-term graft and patient survival and quality of life (QOL). In the first meta-analysis, Bravata et al. found that LT improves all domains of QOL, with the greatest increase in those domains related to physical function and the least gains in the psychosocial areas. The eradication of hepatitis C virus by oral direct-acting antiviral agents significantly improves QOL after transplant. Waclawski and Noone analyzed 35 studies dealing with employment and LT. The main conclusion is that employment decreases after the procedure and does not run in parallel to the improvement of QOL.
Further reading
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