[The Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Lung Transplant Candidates and Recipients].

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to compare PTSD frequencies of patients who are on a waiting list for a transplant (WL) and patients who have had a lung transplant (L-Tx).
METHODS: Data concerning PTSD (IES-R, SKID-I), the quality of life (SF-36), social support (F-SozU), anxiety and depression (HADS-D) was collected from patients on waiting lists (n=44) and transplant patients (n=48).
RESULTS: The PTSD results of patients on WL were significantly higher (25%), than those of patients after L-Tx (6.25%). Especially the rates on subscales about intrusion and hyper-arousal showed a higher symptomatology for WL-patients. Patients after L-Tx had a significantly better physical and mental quality of life as well as a significantly lower level of depressiveness and anxiety.
CONCLUSIONS: The lower PTSD rates of the transplant participants indicate that the psychological symptoms will at least partially decrease when patients have fewer negative physical symptoms after L-Tx. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.