Health status of patients with liver transplantation by alcohol-related disease vs another etiology: A cohort study.

AIM: To study the health status of a group of patients with liver transplantation by alcohol-related disease vs another etiology before and after the transplantation. METHOD: Longitudinal cohort study of liver transplant patients from November 2019 to July 2022. Adult patients attended in the unit of transplantation of a hospital for a first liver transplant, both elective and urgent, were included. Patients who already had a transplanted organ and those who required liver re-transplantation in the first month after the first transplant were excluded. Sociodemographic and clinical variables, MELDNa, liver frailty index, emotional-behavioral effects of transplantation, level of anxiety and depression were collected. Pearson's chi-square, Student's t, Mann-Whitney U, and Wilcoxon sign tests were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The sample was n = 67 liver transplant patients with a mean age of 56.37 years, 67.2% being men and 39% due to alcohol-related liver disease. 9% of all included patients were urgent transplants. Alcohol consumption was associated with older age, a high rate of liver frailty, and a non-active work situation. Alcoholic etiology correlated with increased concern during the first six months after liver transplantation. CONCLUSION: There are differences in the health status between liver transplant patients for alcohol-related liver disease vs other etiology. Nurses must consider the etiology of liver disease to guide care and interventions throughout the transplant process.

Analysis of the impact of liver transplantation as a condition of health.

AIM: To analyse the impact that liver transplantation has had on the patient as a condition of their health. METHOD: A prospective study was carried out, the sample of which was made up of liver transplant patients at the Gregorio Marañón General University Hospital from November 2019 to August 2021. The hospital anxiety and depression scale, the Model for End-stage liver disease sodium and liver fragility index and the Transplant Effects Questionnaire Spanish were used. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The student's t-test was used for continuous variables and the chi-square test for categorical variables. For non-parametric samples, the Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis's sign were used. RESULTS: The sample was made up of 60 patients with a mean age of 55.68 years, 70% being men. The mean anxiety and depression scores of the patients improved significantly after liver transplantation. The impact of physical health resulted that those patients with a higher Model for End-stage liver disease sodium were correlated with a greater feeling of guilt after transplantation. Furthermore, greater adherence to immunosuppressive treatment was directly correlated with greater disclosure and inversely with guilt, after transplantation. CONCLUSION: Liver transplantation is a process that impacts the health of patients. Those patients who arrive at the transplant with a more deteriorated physical situation present a greater guilt after the transplant. This impact is inversely correlated with adherence to immunosuppressive treatment. Nurses should intervene in such patients to reduce the impact on adherence to treatment.