Abstract
Background and aims: Liver-transplanted children have an increased risk to develop serious developmental problems and comorbid disorders. The project Live!® aims at establishing a psychosocial care for liver-transplanted children and their families.
Methods: Assessment of 169 families included: quality of life (KIDSCREEN-52), cognitive abilities (WISC), attention and executive functions (Test Battery for Attentional Performance, TAP), psychopathology (K-SADS-PL), and psychosocial burden in the families (Impact-on-Family Scale). At the time of transplantation, the mean age of children was 2.1 (SD 3.0) years. On average, they were examined 5.8 (SD 3.7) years after transplantation. Forty percent of children received a living donation.
Results: Quality of life in children after transplantation is inside the normal range. However, 40% of the sample showed psychiatric disorders. Cognitive abilities and several attention and executive function scales were significantly below average. Families with liver-transplanted children reported high psychological strain. Cognitive test performance was negatively correlated with the pre-operative duration of illness. Children who had received a living donation performed better in cognitive ability measures. Compliance problems were reported by 18% of the parents and 45% reported problems in Kindergarten or School. 51% of the families requested for (psychotherapeutic) support.
Conclusions: The results demonstrate that livertransplanted children are in urgent need for an early developmental screening after transplantation to prevent developmental deficits and to ensure children's social integration and mental wellbeing. Psychological support should be included in the standard routine of pre- and postoperative medical care of liver transplanted children and their families.
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Kaller, T., Langguth, N., Nashan, B. et al. 524 Cognitive Abilities, Quality of Life and Psychosocial Burden in Livertransplanted Children and Their Families. The Project Live!R. Pediatr Res 68 (Suppl 1), 267–268 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-201011001-00524
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-201011001-00524