ISSN : 1301-5680
e-ISSN : 2149-8156
Turkish Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery     
Quality of life among patients with left ventricular assist device: Comparison of two populations
Zeliha Özdemir Köken1, Ümit Kervan2, Murat Avşar3, Sinan Sabit Kocabeyoğlu2, Mustafa Paç4
1Department of Surgical Nursing, Hacettepe University Faculty of Nursing, Ankara, Turkey
2Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Health Sciences, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
3Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
4Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Yüksek Ihtisas University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
DOI : 10.5606/tgkdc.dergisi.2020.18541
Background: This study aims to evaluate quality of life among patients with an implanted left ventricular assist device in two different populations.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included a total of 20 patients (15 males, 5 females; mean age 41.8±13.4 years; range, 20 to 65 years) from Turkey and 40 patients (33 males, 7 females; mean age 55.1±11.6 years; range, 21 to 76 years) from Germany who underwent left ventricular assist device implantation and reached their third month of treatment between January 2016 and August 2016. The Euro Quality of Life-5 Dimension Questionnaire and Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire-12 were used to assess quality of life of both groups.

Results: Sixty-five percent of the German patients returned to work, while none of the Turkish patients returned after implantation (p=0.000). The Turkish (70%) and German (40%) patients reported that they had difficulty in living with a left ventricular assist device (p=0.028). The mean Euro Quality of Life-5 Dimension Questionnaire visual analog scale scores of the Turkish and German patients were 70.50% and 62.38%, respectively. The mean Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire-12 scores of the Turkish patients were significantly higher than those of the German patients (p=0.01).

Conclusion: Left ventricular assist device implantation improved the quality of life of both Turkish and German patients. Turkish patients with left ventricular assist device should be encouraged to adopt a more independent life, not to limit their lives to home and to return to work according to their functional capacity.

Keywords : Left ventricular assist device, mechanical support, population, quality of life
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