Symptom characteristics of patients after liver transplantation:a latent class analysis

CHEN Xiao; ZHANG Yuxia; ZHANG Xiaoyun; XU Yanyan; SUN Lijun; SHEN Yun; QIU Jie; PAN Ting; YU Jingxian

doi:10.12102/j.issn.1009-6493.2025.05.004

Abstract：Objective:To classify the symptom characteristics of liver transplant recipients,and explore the differences in demographic characteristics and disease characteristics of patients with different symptom categories.Methods:A total of 391 recipients of liver transplantation were selected as the research participants,and the General Data Questionnaire and the Overall Evaluation Questionnaire of Symptom Experience of Liver Transplantation Recipients were administered.The latent class analysis was used to classify the liver transplantation recipients according to the symptom characteristics.The multiple Logistic regression was used to explore the differences in demography characteristics and disease characteristics of different categories of patients.Results:The occurrence and development of symptoms in liver transplant recipients exhibit population heterogeneity,categorized into three groups,which were the"low symptom incidence group"(43%),"medium symptom incidence group"(30%),and"high psychosocial symptom incidence group"(27%).Compared with the group with a low incidence of symptoms,patients within 1 year after transplantation and those using an immunosuppressive regimen not mainly based on tacrolimus were more likely to be classified into the moderate symptom group.Compared with the group with a low incidence of symptoms,patients who had comorbidities,lived in non-urban areas and were within half a year after transplantation were more likely to be classified into the group with a high incidence of psychosocial symptoms.Conclusions:Medical staff should effectively identify the symptoms and characteristics of liver transplant recipients,special attention should be given to the psychological and social dimensions of patients in the early stage after transplantation,especially pay attention to patients with comorbidities and family addresses in rural areas,promote the integration of disease management into daily life,and reduce their disease burden.