Quality of life in recipients before and after liver transplantation in Turkey

Liver transplantation has become the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage liver disease. Most studies show a positive effect on quality of life after liver transplantation, but most studies are based on data from Western countries and little is known about quality of life in liver transplant recipients in Turkey or other developing countries.

To investigate liver transplant recipients' quality of life and factors affecting it, before and 3 months after transplantation in western Turkey.

Descriptive and comparative, with data collected prospectively.

Two medical centers in Western Turkey.

Sixty-five adult recipients of a liver transplant between May 15 and December 31,2007.

Quality of life was measured by using the Nottingham Health Profile Turkish version, and sociodemographic and clinical data were collected from patients' records.

Scores on all subscales of the Nottingham Health Profile differed significantly from before to after liver transplantation. The differences between the mean scores for quality of life before and after transplantation varied significantly with the patients' sex and disease severity.