Overload and stress of informal caregivers of patients with cirrosis and hepatic transplants before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Grant number: 21/02721-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2021
• End date: May 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Alberto Luiz Monteiro Meyer
• Grantee: Walter Augusto Fabio Moraes
• Host Institution: Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Liver cirrhosis, characterized by the disorganization of the architecture of the liver, occurs in about 0.27% of the adult population and causes more than 60,000 deaths per year in countries such as the United States. Liver transplantation, despite being a procedure capable of prolonging the patient's life, replaces one chronic condition with another because in some cases they are affected by the immunosuppression and sequelae resulting from major surgery. From the diagnosis of cirrhosis to organ failure resulting in transplantation, the recipients face an exhausting process in which their informal caregivers are affected to the same extent or even more. Thus, the issues that affect the patient generate considerable burden on their informal caregivers and keep them with one of the worst QoL scores in relation to the general population that does not perform such activities. However, the impact on the informal caregiver of the patient with cirrhosis and after the liver transplant procedure is poorly investigated because the main focus is often the patient. The present study aims to compare the burden and stress between informal caregivers of patients with cirrhosis with those of liver transplant recipients before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. (AU)