Pediatric end stage renal disease health-related quality of life differs by modality: a PedsQL ESRD analysis

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nephrology
• Health Outcomes Research
• Quality of Life Measurement

Background:

• The PedsQL 3.0 End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Module was validated to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in pediatric patients with ESRD.
• Understanding HRQOL differences based on treatment modality (dialysis vs. transplant) is crucial for optimizing care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare HRQOL between pediatric patients with ESRD on maintenance dialysis and those with a renal transplant, using parent and patient self-reports.
• To evaluate the PedsQL 3.0 ESRD Module's utility in identifying modality-specific challenges.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study utilizing the PedsQL 3.0 ESRD Module.
• Data collected from parents and pediatric patients (children and adolescents) with ESRD on dialysis or post-transplant.
• Analysis of HRQOL differences across ESRD Module Scales between the two treatment groups.

Main Results:

• Parents reported significantly higher child HRQOL for renal transplant recipients than for dialysis patients across most domains.
• Pediatric transplant recipients reported comparable HRQOL to dialysis patients, except for significantly better family and peer interactions.
• Effect sizes for parent-reported differences were mostly medium, while patient-reported differences were small and generally non-significant.

Conclusions:

• Parents observe greater HRQOL benefits from renal transplantation compared to dialysis in pediatric ESRD patients.
• Children's self-reported HRQOL differences between transplant and dialysis are less pronounced, highlighting potential discrepancies in perception.
• The PedsQL 3.0 ESRD Module effectively identifies HRQOL challenges related to ESRD and treatment modality in pediatric populations.