Background: With improvements in survival rates, health-related quality of life is an important outcome parameter to evaluate the effectiveness of transplantation. We aimed to identify potential immunologic abnormalities as factors associated with poorer health-related quality of life at distinct scales of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey in heart transplant recipients long term after transplantation.
Methods: One hundred heart transplant recipients were evaluated in a single center. Short-form 36 questionnaires were sent by mail to participants. All patients were clinically and immunologically evaluated after the first year of heart transplantation.
Results: A high prevalence of several immunologic abnormalities persisted even after the first year of transplantation, including IgG hypogammaglobulinemia, low IgG-specific antipneumococcal antibodies, C4 hypocomplementemia, CD8 T-cell lymphocytopenia, and CD19 B-cell lymphocytopenia. Older recipients (>55 years), posttransplant diabetes, digestive complications, and posttransplant infections were associated with lower physical functioning scores (scale < 60). Older recipients (>55 years), pretransplant diabetes, pretransplant arterial hypertension, posttransplant digestive complications, and lower CD8 counts were associated with lower physical role scores (scale <25).
Conclusion: In a single center study, lower CD8 cell counts were found to be associated with poorer health status in heart recipients after the first year of transplantation.
Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.