title: Health-related quality of life after open-heart surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in 1-year-old infants with congenital heart disease (CHD), to follow-up with these children at age 4 years, and to examine predictors of HRQoL.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parents of 144 infants who had undergone cardiopulmonary bypass surgery for CHD before age 6 months were prospectively included in this cohort study. Parents completed a standardized questionnaire on child HRQoL at 1 year and 4 years of age; medical data were extracted from the patients' hospital records.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parents reported a significant reduction of the children's physical functioning compared with healthy controls at age 1 year. At age 4 years, children with CHD had poorer cognitive functioning but better social functioning compared with healthy controls. Lower HRQoL at age 4 years was not significantly predicted by univentricular or biventricular CHD but was predicted by the presence of an underlying genetic defect, tube feeding at 1 year, and lower HRQoL at 1 year.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that HRQoL of infants and preschool-age children with CHD is impaired in physical and cognitive dimensions. Children with lower overall HRQoL at age 1 year, an underlying genetic defect, and tube feeding need to be monitored carefully to provide appropriate and timely interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatics and Psychiatry, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Werner
authors.affiliation: Child Development Center, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Children's Research Center, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Latal
authors.affiliation: Children's Research Center, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Cardiology, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Valsangiacomo Buechel
authors.affiliation: Child Development Center, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatics and Psychiatry, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Children's Research Center, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Markus A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Landolt
mesh_terms: D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012917:Social Adjustment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: CHD; Congenital heart disease; HRQoL; Health-related quality of life; Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research Academic Medical Centre Preschool Children Quality of Life; SES; Socioeconomic status; TAPQOL