The Effect of Compliance, Family Support and Graft Function on Quality of Life in Kidney Transplant Recipients / 대한이식학회지

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that kidney transplant recipients' quality of life depend on compliance of treatment, family support, socioeconomic status. The purpose of this study was to determine whether estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) study as a index of graft function influence recipients' quality of life including above mentioned factors. METHODS: One hundred and ten patients who visited out-patient department at least 3 months after kidney transplantation were included in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. This tool included; quality of life, compliance and family support scale as well as medical record review. The analysing of data was performed with SPSS version 11.5 (SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL, USA). RESULTS: The mean score of the recipients' quality of life (3.59/5), compliance (3.81/5), the support of family (4.02/5) and GFR (63 ml/min/1.73 m2) were revealed respectively. The quality of life was correlated with compliance (r=.260, P<.001) and family support (r=.377, P<.001) statistically. and compliance and family support also revealed correlation (r=.452, P<.001). Family support was the most explainable factor for the quality of life (R2=.142). however, the quality of life was not correlated with recipients' GFR (r=.013 P=0.819). CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study showed that kidney transplant recipients had a moderate quality of life. These findings suggest that emotional aspect like family support is as important as clinical factors such as GFR or compliance for recipients' quality of life. To optimize post-transplant quality of life, implication for interventional programming should be focused on family support.

Simultaneous Pancreas-kidney Transplantation from Pediatric Donor: A Case Report / 대한이식학회지

Simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplantation is a well-established treatment for patients with insulin-dependent DM complicated by ESRD. The current shortage of cadaver donors and the increasing number of diabetic patients on the transplant waiting list has prompted the use of cadaveric organ from pediatric donors. But the lower age limit of the pancreatic donors has not yet been established. We report the successful result using a 10 years old donor for a 36-year-old SPK transplant recipient.