Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-2014
Identifier
PMCID: PMC4068336 DOI: 10.1017/S1047951113000632
Abstract
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare associations between generic versus disease-specific functional health status assessments and patient and clinical characteristics for patients with severe congenital heart disease.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional observational study involving 325 single ventricle patients, aged 10-18 years, after Fontan procedure. Enrolled patients underwent a medical history review, laboratory testing, and assessment of the functional health status by completion of the generic Child Report Child Health Questionnaire and the disease-specific Congenital Heart Adolescent and Teenage questionnaire. Correlated conceptually equivalent domains from both questionnaires were identified and their associations with patient and clinical variables were compared.
RESULTS: From the generic assessment, patients perceived marginally lower physical functioning (p = 0.05) but greater freedom from bodily pain compared with a normal population (p < 0.001). The equivalent physical functioning/limitations domain of the generic instrument, compared with the disease-specific instrument, had similar associations (higher multi-variable model R²) with medical history variables (R² = 0.14 versus R² = 0.12, respectively) and stronger associations with exercise testing variables (R² = 0.22 versus R² = 0.06). Similarly, the corresponding freedom from bodily pain/symptoms domains from both questionnaires showed a greater association for the generic instrument with medical history variables (R² = 0.15 versus R² = 0.09, respectively) and non-cardiac conditions (R² = 0.13 versus R² = 0.06). The associations of each questionnaire with echocardiographic results, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging results, and serum brain natriuretic peptide levels were uniformly weak (R² range
CONCLUSIONS: Assessment of the physical functional health status using generic and disease-specific instruments yields few differences with regard to associations between conceptually similar domains and patient and clinical characteristics for adolescents after Fontan procedure.
Journal Title
Cardiology in the young
Volume
24
Issue
3
First Page
469
Last Page
477
MeSH Keywords
Adolescent; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Fontan Procedure; Health Status; Heart Defects, Congenital; Humans; Male; Surveys and Questionnaires
Keywords
Congenital heart defects; CHD; Heart Surgery; Fontan Operation; Outcomes
Recommended Citation
McCrindle, B. W., Zak, V., Pemberton, V. L., Lambert, L. M., Vetter, V. L., Lai, W. W., Uzark, K., Margossian, R., Atz, A. M., Cook, A., Newburger, J. W., ., Shirali, G. S. Functional health status in children and adolescents after Fontan: comparison of generic and disease-specific assessments. Cardiology in the young 24, 469-477 (2014).
Included in
Cardiology Commons, Cardiovascular Diseases Commons, Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities Commons, Pediatrics Commons, Surgery Commons, Surgical Procedures, Operative Commons
