Supporting and educating patients and families on the intestinal failure,
intestinal rehabilitation and intestinal and multivisceral transplantation journey.
Long Term Outcomes and Quality of Life
There is very little data assessing the quality of life of intestinal transplant patients. Recent studies have shown patients report significant improvement in quality of life, sleep, functional status, and decreased anxiety. (1) Further data, assessment, and long-term follow-up with the population is needed to better assess quality of life variables in this unique population.
Significant factors for long term patient and graft outcomes include preformed and development of donor specific antibodies (DSA), presence of social support, inclusion of the liver, and prompt and early referral. (1) Factors that lead to unfavorable outcome included rejection and need for heavy immunosuppression, cold ischemia time, number of or previous abdominal operations operative time, development of PTLD, and development of CMV. (2)
References:
Bharadwaj S, Tandon P, Gohel TD, et al. Current status of intestinal and multivisceral transplantation. Gastroenterology Report. 2017;5(1):20-28. doi:10.1093/gastro/gow045.
Abu-Elmagd K, Bond G. Gut failure and abdominal visceral transplantation. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2003;62(3):727-737. doi:10.1079/pns2003288.
