Abstract
Introduction:
Living donor transplantation of kidneys accounts for one quarter of transplants performed in the United States. Careful screening of psychiatric history is a standard part of the donor evaluation. Little is known about the impact of psychiatric history on post-donation course and pain experience.
Research Question:
This study investigated whether psychiatric history was associated with pain and related outcomes among living kidney donors.
Design:
A retrospective medical record review was conducted of 75 living kidney donors who underwent laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. All donor candidates completed a psychological evaluation and were approved for donation by a multidisciplinary committee. History of psychiatric diagnosis and psychiatric medication use were obtained from donors’ psychological evaluation reports. Data on pain and related outcomes (ie, history of prescribed pain medication, post-donation pain, opioid use, length of hospital stay, post-donation emergency department visits), as well as demographic and donation-related characteristics were also abstracted from medical records.
Results:
Psychiatric history, including current or historical psychiatric diagnosis or psychiatric medication use, in living kidney donors who were evaluated and approved for donation by a transplant psychologist was not associated with greater perceived pain, greater use of opioid pain medication in the post-operative period, longer hospital stays, or more frequent post-donation emergency department visits.
Discussion:
The findings demonstrate that carefully screened donors with a psychiatric history have comparable pain-related outcomes as donors without a psychiatric history. This study highlights the importance of the pre-donation psychological evaluation in promoting positive postdonation outcomes through careful selection of donor candidates.
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