Quality of life in children with kidney transplant: Systematic review

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nephrology
• Transplantation Immunology
• Quality of Life Research

Background:

• Kidney transplantation is a vital treatment for pediatric end-stage renal disease.
• Assessing quality of life (QoL) is crucial for understanding the holistic well-being of pediatric transplant recipients.
• Validated instruments are essential for reliable QoL assessment in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and identify studies evaluating QoL in pediatric kidney transplant patients.
• To focus on studies utilizing specific, validated QoL assessment tools in pediatrics.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review across major databases (Medline, PubMed, LILACS, CINAHL, SciELO, Cochrane Library).
• Keywords included: Quality of Life, Kidney Transplantation, Pediatrics.
• Analysis of observational studies reporting QoL data using evaluation instruments.

Main Results:

• Eight observational studies were included from an initial selection of 366 studies.
• Pediatric kidney transplant patients demonstrate a lower QoL compared to healthy children.
• QoL shows improvement in the post-transplant phase compared to the pre-transplant period.

Conclusions:

• Children with kidney transplants experience diminished QoL relative to healthy controls.
• The post-transplant period is associated with improved QoL outcomes.
• Understanding the psychosocial factors impacting QoL is key for optimizing supportive care and interventions for pediatric kidney transplant recipients.