The effect of immunosuppressive therapy after liver transplantation on activities of daily living and fear of death during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: In our study, we aimed to investigate the effect of immunosuppressive therapy after liver transplantation on activities of daily living and fear of death during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This study was conducted as a cross-sectional study with the participation of 213 liver transplant patients hospitalized in the liver transplant center of a university hospital. The data analysis was performed with IBM SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) Statistics 25.

Results: Katz's Activities of Daily Living (ADL) were semi-independent and the total score was 11.07 ± 1.59, and the Death Attitude Profile-Revised (DAP-R) total score was 152.23 ± 5.34. It was determined that the DAP-R score was around 150 points in the minimum and maximum score ranges of Katz ADL after liver transplantation.

Conclusions: High fear of death threatens resilience and can make patients feel lonely, helpless, sad, abandoned and stressed. Clinicians should spend more time with their patients.