Quality of life on home parenteral nutrition or after intestinal transplantation

We compared the health related quality of life (HRQOL) of stable patients on home parenteral nutrition (HPN) and of patients who underwent successful intestinal transplantation (ITx).

HRQOL was evaluated by the non-disease-specific Short Form 36 instrument, which examines eight specific domains and scores them on a scale of 0% to 100%. Patient scores were standardized for the sex-matched and age-matched group scores of the healthy population by calculating the Z-score (reduced value: Z-score < -1).

Eighteen patients on HPN and 12 patients who underwent ITx were studied. The two groups did not differ for primary intestinal disease, cause of intestinal failure, presence of a stoma, body mass index, and employment and marital status. HPN Z-scores were physical functioning -2.3, physical role -1.5, body pain -1.0, general health -1.2, vitality -0.5, social functioning -0.9, emotional role -0.7, and mental health 0.0. ITx Z-scores were physical functioning -1.7, physical role -0.8, body pain 0.0, general health -0.4, vitality 0.0, social functioning -0.4, emotional role -0.3, and mental health 0.0. Only the body pain Z-scores differed significantly (P = .012).

The value of the physical components of the SF-36 was reduced in all the components in the HPN patients and in the physical functioning component in the ITx patients. The mental health components were normal in both. Successful ITx showed a better subjective physical health feeling than stable HPN.