The influence of psychosocial factors on heart transplantation decisions and outcomes.

S. E. Geller, T. Connolly

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

In January 1990, a well-established heart transplant program added a psychosocial evaluation procedure to its medical evaluation of potential transplant recipients. To determine the predictive value of psychosocial evaluation for decisions to list patients for a transplant and for ultimate clinical outcomes, we reviewed records of 191 patients who underwent psychosocial evaluation in the subsequent 3 years. Informal prescreening for obvious psychopathology and other disqualifiers almost certainly restricted the ranges of psychosocial factors observed in the sample. Of 120 patients listed, 61 actually received transplants. Psychosocial factors were little used in deciding whether to list the patients and were not predictive of recipients' medical outcome or compliance, but were moderately predictive of complication rates and difficulty of managing patients after transplantation. Although psychosocial evaluation of prescreened potential transplant recipients has little value in predicting medical outcome, it may be useful for planning and scheduling care after transplantation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)173-179
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of transplant coordination : official publication of the North American Transplant Coordinators Organization (NATCO)
Volume7
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1997
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Transplantation

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