Health utility and quality of life in pediatric liver transplant recipients.

Abstract

To measure HU and HRQOL in pediatric liver transplant (LT) recipients, a cross-sectional study of patient-parent dyads was conducted. Direct HU were assessed in 48 adolescents ≥12years using SG and TTO techniques. Indirect HU were measured by Health Utility Index 2 and HUI3 for subjects ≥12years and CHU9D for ≥7years. Patients reported HRQOL using PedsQL™ GC and PedsQL™ TM. A total of 108 dyads participated (55.6% female; 73.2% Caucasian; 42.6% biliary atresia; 35.2% living donor; 37.0% Medicaid). Mean age at survey was 13.6±3.5years, and time from LT was 8.9±4.9years. 61.2% were on monotherapy, 25 (23.2%) had acute rejection within 3years, and 15 (13.9%) had a biliary obstruction within 5years. Mean indirect HU and HRQOL scores by child report were lower than norms (P<.001). LRD recipients had higher PedsQL™ GC, PedsQL™ TM, and HUI3 scores (P<.01). HU in pediatric LT recipients are lower than norms. Availability of HU scores for post-transplant health states will enable measurement of quality-adjusted life years for future comparative effectiveness studies.