Psychosocial predictors of psychiatric disorders after living donor liver transplantation

Objective. Adult recipients of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) often have psychiatric disorders before and after surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate pretransplant psychosocial factors that can be used to predict psychiatric disorders after LDLT. Methods. The subjects were 67 recipients of adult-to-adult LDLT at Kyoto University Hospital, Japan, from November 2001 through July 2003. All subjects were interviewed and examined by means of the Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, World Health Organization Quality-of-Life Assessment-26, and Psychosocial Assessment of Candidates for Transplantation (PACT) just before LDLT. The subjects were followed up for 90 days for the presence of psychiatric disorders. Results. Mood disorders in the past, inability to maintain a healthy lifestyle, family support instability, and suicidal ideation just before LDLT might be predictors of major depressive disorder after LDLT. Delirium just before LDLT might be a predictor of delirium after LDLT, while no psychosocial factors associated with posttransplant delirium could be found. Conclusion. Information about life history rather than any psychological examination is important for predicting the occurrence of posttransplant depression. PACT is useful for obtaining information about the life history of LDLT recipients.