Fatigue After Liver Transplant and Combined Liver and Kidney Transplant

To date, fatigue is still poorly understood in recipients of orthotopic liver transplant and simultaneous/sequential liver and kidney transplant procedures. The present study examined the appearance of fatigue in patients who received orthotopic liver and sequential liver and kidney transplant procedures compared with the general population and the influence of various clinical and socioeconomic factors on fatigue levels.

The Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory survey was sent to all patients with a history of orthotopic liver and simultaneous/sequential liver and kidney transplant. The results were compared to data from a reference population.

Our survey included 276 eligible patients: 256 recipients (92.7%) of orthotopic liver transplant and 20 recipients (7.3%) of simultaneous/sequential liver and kidney transplant. Significantly lower fatigue scores were found in the general population compared with both transplant groups (P < .001). There were also no significant differences between the transplant groups. Among the clinical and socioeconomic factors, history of hepatocellular carcinoma, chronic kidney disease, age, family status, and education had a significant impact on fatigue levels.

This is the first study to compare fatigue in recipients of orthotopic liver and simultaneous/sequential liver and kidney transplant. We found that fatigue is an important but still poorly understood outcome after transplant.