Health status of the patients before lung transplantation: a report from Iran.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Breathing is essential for living. When someone is a lung transplantation candidate, it could be imagined that the breathing difficulties that he/she is experiencing has a great impact on his/her health status. MATERIAL/METHODS: We asked all the patients on the lung transplantation waiting list at Masih Daneshvari Hospital to complete the validated Iranian version of Global Health Questionnaire (GHQ). It was the 28-item version of the questionnaire with scores ranging from 0 to 84. Patients filled the questionnaire while on routine out-patients visits. The higher scores represent greater distress. RESULTS: Seventy patients were requested to participate in the present study out of which 64 filled the questionnaire completely. Mean +/-SD (min-max) scores of the questionnaire subscales were as follows somatic symptoms =8.2+/-4.2; anxiety =8.1+/-4.9; 8-14, depression =4+/-4.2; social dysfunction =10.4+/-4 and the overall score =30.6+/-9.5. There was no significant difference in the subscales of the questionnaire based on gender and disease type. Higher age was associated with less social dysfunction (r=-273, p=0.023). Higher level of prednisolone consumption and lower hemoglobin were associated with poorer somatic status (r=0.644, p=0.033; r=-0.410, 0.030 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that lung transplantation candidates have extremely poor health state. It seems that pulmonary problems and activity limitations put more pressure on younger patients and causes social difficulties.