ANALYSIS OF SURVIVAL AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN TRANSPLANT PATIENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW.

Abstract

Organ transplantation represents one of the most significant achievements of modern medicine, being considered the therapy of choice for the terminal stages of multiple diseases. Despite technical and immunological advances, the assessment of survival and quality of life after transplantation remains heterogeneous in the literature, lacking updated syntheses that encompass different transplant modalities. Objective: To analyze, through a systematic review, the available evidence on survival and quality of life in patients undergoing different modalities of organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Method: Systematic review conducted in the PubMed database with a strategy structured in the PICO model, combining the descriptors transplant*, survival, quality of life, with period filters (2015–2025), full text, and systematic review design. Of the 1,735 records identified, 55 were selected for screening and 17 were included in the final synthesis. Results: The 17 included studies encompassed kidney, liver, lung, cornea, parathyroid, facial, autologous, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants. Consistent benefits were identified in graft survival and health-related quality of life after preemptive kidney transplantation, functional improvement with exercise programs in kidney and lung transplant recipients, and favorable outcomes in liver transplantation for colorectal metastases. Pre-transplant sarcopenia emerged as a negative prognostic factor in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Conclusion: Organ transplantation promotes substantial gains in survival and quality of life, with significant variations according to organ type, recipient profile, and perioperative management strategy. The methodological heterogeneity among the studies reinforces the need for standardization of quality of life measurement instruments and prolonged longitudinal follow-up.