Organ Transplantation Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Organ Transplantation, including details on risks, prognosis, procedure, surgery.

Quality of life after kidney transplantation: the bright side of life?

Dobbels F, De Bleser L, De Geest S, Fine RN

Center for Health Services and Nursing Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. fabienne.dobbels@med.kuleuven.be

This review describes the state-of-the-art on quality of life (QOL) in kidney transplant (KTx) recipients. More specifically, posttransplant QOL is compared with the pretransplant evaluation, with other chronically ill patient populations, and with healthy subjects. Determinants, consequences, and potential interventions to improve QOL are also summarized. However, because of the methodological diversity of published articles, this review starts with addressing some conceptual and methodological concerns surrounding research on QOL in general and in KTx recipients specifically. The ultimate goal of this review was to identify the gaps in the state-of-the-art evidence and to provide some guidelines for conduct of research in the future.

Published 1 October 2007 in Adv Chronic Kidney Dis, 14(4): 370-8.
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