Demographic and Psychosocial Characteristics of Lung Transplant Candidates: Single-Center Analysis

Lung transplantation has changed the course of treatment of lung diseases for the better; however, there are various factors that should be considered to increase the probability of a better outcome. Factors such as the patient's background, level of education, and income could affect their perception and eventually the results of the procedure.

The present study involved patients who underwent the qualification process for lung transplant along with psychological and sociologic assessment at the Lung Transplant Unit in the Department of Cardiac Surgery and Vascular Surgery, Medical University of Gdansk. The following data were identified in the patients' medical history: marital status, size of the city, source of income, profession, voivodeship, and their Stanford Integrated Psychosocial Assessment for Transplant (SIPAT) score for psychosocial prediction of the outcome.

A group of 121 patients were included in the study: 77 (63.64%) men and 44 (36.36%) women. The average age of the patients was 55.4 ± 9.81 years. Eighty (66.12%) lived in the city, and 26 (21.49%) of patients were professionally active with a fixed salary as their source of income. One hundred two patients were married. The median SIPAT score was 10.0 ± 3.0 for men and 10.0 ± 2.75 for women (P = .0974).

For optimum care and results of the lung transplant procedure, it is important to consider these background patient factors because they play a crucial role in determining the course of the surgery. The analysis of demographic data is undoubtedly one of the elements helpful in the further fate of the whole process.