Association of Liver Transplant and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Single-Center Experience

This prospective cohort study aimed to determine the prevalence of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and to reveal how the diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder can be made most accurately in children with liver transplant.

We studied a group of 62 children from 6 and 18 years old who underwent liver transplant at least 1 year previous to our study and who were followed up in the Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology. A child and adolescent psychiatrist evaluated all liver transplant patients for attention- deficit hyperactivity disorder based on the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. The Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (in Turkish) was applied to the children. The Kiddie Schedule and the Conners Parent Rating Scale were applied to the children's parents. The Conners Teacher Rating Scale was applied to the children's teachers.

The frequency of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in the sample was found to be 24.5% according to Kiddie Schedule, 45.9% according to the Conners Parent Rating Scale, and 24% according to the Conners Teacher Rating Scale. However, clinical examination showed that 9.67% of the children had attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

We concluded that detailed clinical examination is more important than neuropsychological tests and scales when diagnosing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in pediatric liver transplant recipients.