QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG TODDLERS WITH CONGENITAL HEART DEFECTS

https://youtu.be/Y0k1zEu0uIc BACKGROUND: Congenital heart defects (CHD) are structural heart abnormalities affecting 1% of children. At school-age, these children report lower quality of life, particularly when CHD is complex. Less is known about quality of life and its relationship to defect severity or treatment among very young children with CHD or innocent murmurs. This study investigated parent reports of quality of life for their very young children with CHD and compared their scores to published data for healthy children. METHODS: Study data were collected from families who were enrolled in an observational trial of physical activity and motor development. Inclusion criteria for the study were children aged 1 to 3 with a diagnosis of CHD or an innocent heart murmur. Parents completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) core, cardiac and family impact modules at the baseline visit. Demographic data were obtained through family reports on the child's age, sex, CHD treatment history, and family income. RESULTS: Complete PedsQL and demographic data sets were obtained from parents of 119 children (mean child age: 1.75 ± 0.82 year) with varying degrees of CHD treatment (no intervention (n=41, 22 female), CHD surgery without cardiopulmonary bypass (n=17, 11 female), CHD surgery with bypass (n=36, 19 female)) or innocent murmurs (n=25, 10 female). When compared to the PedsQL Core module standard for healthy children, 83.00 ± 14.79 (Varni 2001), the children in this study reported a better quality of life with a mean score of 93.26 ± 7.72, resulting in a mean difference of 10.26 ± 1.37 (p