First report of a psychosocial intervention for patients with alcohol-related liver disease undergoing liver transplantation

Performing transplantations in patients with alcoholic liver disease raises great concerns for both clinicians and lay people, not least because of the fear that relapse back to drinking after the procedure may lead to poor outcomes. Therefore it is important to develop and evaluate new strategies for assessing and supporting such patients. A program of psychosocial intervention was developed to assist patients undergoing transplantation for alcoholic liver disease in coping with their alcohol problems. We describe a feasibility study of its implementation in a group of 20 such patients. This report shows that it is feasible to deliver a time-limited psychological intervention to patients undergoing assessment for liver transplantation. The intervention was readily integrated into the usual transplantation process and was acceptable to both patients and staff. Further research is required to clarify its impact on longer-term outcome measures.