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[Results of liver transplantation in children; parents' opinion]
J O Bijstra1, T Tijmstra, J W Heyink
1Rijksuniversiteit, vakgroep Gezondheidswetenschappen, Groningen.
Insights
Parents generally report positive outcomes for children post-liver transplant, with significant improvements compared to pre-transplant conditions. Younger children (1-3 years) showed more positive functioning reports than older children (4-12 years).
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Transplant Surgery
- Child Psychology
Context:
- The University Hospital of Groningen has performed pediatric liver transplants since 1982.
- This study examines parental experiences and child functioning after liver transplantation.
- Data was collected via interviews and questionnaires from 19 pediatric patients and their parents.
Purpose:
- To evaluate the physical and psychosocial functioning of children following liver transplantation.
- To understand parental perspectives on their child's daily behavior and overall well-being post-transplant.
- To compare the functioning of transplanted children with a healthy control group.
Summary:
- Parents generally reported positive outcomes regarding their child's physical and psychosocial functioning after liver transplantation.
- While individual interviews revealed some specific problems, these did not significantly impact overall functioning scores compared to controls.
- Parents of younger children (1-3 years) reported more positive functioning than parents of older children (4-12 years).
Impact:
- Findings suggest liver transplantation leads to significant improvements in children's quality of life, especially when compared to their pre-transplant state.
- The study highlights the importance of considering pre-transplant status when assessing post-transplant outcomes.
- Results provide valuable insights for healthcare providers and families navigating the pediatric liver transplant journey.
Abstract:
Since 1982, the liver transplantation team of the University Hospital of Groningen has been carrying out transplantations in children. This article focuses on the experiences of the parents of 19 children who have undergone transplantation. An interview and two questionnaires were used to collect the data. Data concerned children's physical and psychosocial functioning and their daily behaviour. Five older children also filled in two questionnaires. In general, parents were positive about their child's functioning. When the interviews were analysed at an individual level, several problems were reported, however. These problems did not fall within one specific domain. As a consequence, the questionnaires did not show any significant differences between these children and a matched control group of healthy children. The parents of the children aged 1-3 yr were more positive about their children's functioning than the parents of the children aged 4-12 yr. The positive results should be assessed in the light of children's functioning before transplantation: when compared with pre-transplantation problems, present problems are of little significance.