title: Quality of life after children undergo a radical arterial switch operation at an older age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of the study was to evaluate the quality of life of children after the older corrective arterial switch operation (ASO) by means of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), version 4.0.
  
  
  METHODS
  The records of 86 patients who had complete transposition of the great arteries plus a nonrestrictive ventricular septal defect, or a Taussig-Bing anomaly, and severe pulmonary arterial hypertension, and who underwent a corrective ASO at an older age (>6 months) between May 2000 and October 2008 were reviewed retrospectively. Eighty survivors were followed up, and the health-related quality of life of the survivors was evaluated with the PedsQL, version 4.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 6 hospital deaths. The mean (SD) follow-up interval was 3.5 ± 2.3 years, and the mean age at last visit was 7.0 ± 1.2 years. Two late deaths occurred, and 8 patients were lost to follow-up. Patients who underwent a corrective ASO at an older age showed acceptable scores for all scales, and they were all comparable with those of a healthy population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that the quality of life of children who undergo a corrective ASO at an older age (>6 months) is acceptable, compared with that of healthy children in China.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Affiliated Ruikang Hospital of Guangxi Traditional Chinese Medical College, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. gz98039@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Jing-bin
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yong-tao
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Xiao-dong
authors.initials: XD
authors.lastname: Lv
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality*; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000401:mortality*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D014188:Transposition of Great Vessels / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000401:mortality*