Anxiety levels observed in candidates for liver transplantation

Anxiety can be considered an emotional state that does not present itself at the same intensity in all patients, and can be classified into 3 levels: mild, moderate, and severe. The patient, upon entering the waiting list for transplantation, reflects on the decision taken, which leaves him constantly anxious about the idea of possible death.

This study had the aim of evaluating the degree of anxiety observed in orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) candidates and whether there was a correlation between anxiety and etiologic diagnosis.

This study was a prospective study where the patients underwent psychological evaluation by Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). The anxiety level was minimal, mild, moderate, or severe. The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score and etiology were recorded.

The level of anxiety found were as follows: 55% minimal, 27% mild, 12% moderate, and 7% severe. The correlation between level of anxiety and etiologic diagnosis showed that 71% of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and 60% of those with liver cancer showed a minimal degree of anxiety and 27% of patients with autoimmune cirrhosis had severe anxiety.

We found that in patients with autoimmune hepatitis, the degree of anxiety was more pronounced. It is believed that the absence of physical symptoms is an important factor when observing anxiety in OLT candidates.