Social support. Assessing a pre-LT patient’s level of social support is an essential part of the psychosocial evaluation. According to the 2013 AASLD guideline, patients should have “adequate” social support both during the waitlist and post-operative periods.2 Lack of partnership is a significant predictor of poor post-transplant outcomes, such as late graft loss.10 Satapathy and Sanyal26 reported that among patients who receive an LT for alcoholic liver disease, those with immediate family support were less likely to relapse to using alcohol after transplant. Poor social support was also a predictor of post-transplant medication nonadherence.10 Thus, the patient needs enough social support to engage in the pre-transplant health care requirements and to participate in post-transplant recommendations until he/she is functioning independently post-transplant.
Screening tools
Various screening tools may be useful in a pre-LT evaluation. Three standardized assessment tools available specifically for pre-transplant psychosocial assessments are the Stanford Integrated Psychosocial Assessment for Transplantation (Table 26), the Psychosocial Assessment of Candidates for Transplantation,27 and the Transplant Evaluation Rating Scale.28 Instruments to aid in the assessment of depression, anxiety, and delirium,29-31 a structured personality assessment,32 coping inventories,33 neuropsychological batteries,34 and others also have been used to evaluate patients before LT. The self-rated Beck Depression Inventory and the clinician-rated Hamilton Depression Rating Scale are commonly used.7 Other tools, such as the LEIPAD quality of life instrument and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), have been used to assess for perceived quality of life and psychological distress, respectively.35 These screening tools can be helpful as aids for the pre-LT evaluation; however, diagnoses and treatment plan recommendations require a psychiatric evaluation conducted by a trained clinician.
Treatment after liver transplant
Psychiatric issues. After LT, various psychiatric complications may arise, including (but not limited to) delirium7 and “paradoxical psychiatric syndrome” (PPS).36 Delirium can be managed by administering low-dose antipsychotic medications, limiting the use of benzodiazepines and medications with anticholinergic effects, implementing behavioral interventions (frequent orientation, maintaining sleep/wake cycle, limiting noise, presence of a family member or a sitter at bedside),37 and addressing the underlying etiology. Paradoxical psychiatric syndrome is defined as psychiatric symptoms that occur despite a successful LT. It develops within the first year of transplantation and is characterized by recipients having strong guilt feelings toward their donors.38
Drug interactions. In the post-transplant period, antipsychotics are used for management of delirium and psychosis, antidepressants for anxiety and depression, and benzodiazepines for anxiety and sleep problems.7 Drug–drug interactions between psychotropic medications and the immunosuppressants required after LT must be closely monitored. First-generation antipsychotics should be avoided in post-transplant patients taking tacrolimus due to the increased risk of QTc prolongation. Tacrolimus can also increase the risk of nephrotoxicity when co-administered with lithium. Post-LT patients taking steroids and bupropion have an increased risk of seizure. Carbamazepine may decrease blood levels of cyclosporine due to the induction of hepatic metabolism.39,40 The psychiatrist should review and update the patient’s complete medication list at each visit, checking for possible medication interactions.
Quality of life. In the first 6 months post-transplant, patients typically experience improved quality of life in both physical and psychological domains. However, this improvement vacillates as the patient adjusts to post-transplant life. A reduction in BSI score 1 year after transplant has been reported. The BSI evaluates psychopathological symptoms, which are early indicators of psychological discomfort. One study noted a reduction in the LEIPAD quality of life score, which measures overall quality of life, 2 years after transplant.35 This decline may reflect the difficulties associated with the new challenges after transplant. Patients may endure both physical changes due to medical complications as well as psychological problems as they adjust to their new bodily integrity, their dependence on medications and medical staff, and other changes in function. Three to 5 years after transplant, patients reached a new psychological stability, with reported improvements in quality of life and decreased psychological distress.35
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