Pediatric transplantation of the kidney, liver and heart: Summary report

The following is a summary report of an extensive review of the literature from 1966 to 2001 on growth and development in children receiving kidney, liver and heart transplants. The literature was assessed for relevancy to current clinical practice and for reliability and generalizability of the inferences based on the study design, controls, sample size, age distribution, confounding factors, use of standardized instruments, and consistency with other findings. While studies on growth are included in the review, the main emphasis is on research in cognitive and psychosocial development since these areas have been far less thoroughly studied and contain various methodological deficiencies. On the basis of the literature review both general methodological recommendations and specific recommendations for future research studies are made. Access to the full is provided on the World Wide Web at http://light.emmes.com/pedstransplantation/.