Quality of life in pediatric heart transplant recipients: a comparison with children with and without heart disease.

Background: Little is known about the quality of life (QOL) of children with heart disease who undergo life-saving surgery. The aim of this multicenter study was to examine self- and parent-reported QOL outcomes in pediatric heart transplant recipients.

Methods: Pediatric heart transplant recipients/families (n = 174) from 7 transplant programs completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Generic Core Scales and Cardiac Module.

Hyperlipidemia in children after heart transplantation.

Background: Long-term outcome after cardiac transplantation is limited by graft coronary vasculopathy (GCV). Hyperlipidemia may contribute to the development and progression of GCV. The purpose of this study was to determine the distribution of lipid levels in children after heart transplantation and to determine the incidence and risk factors for hyperlipidemia.

Association of parental pretransplant psychosocial assessment with post-transplant morbidity in pediatric heart transplant recipients.

Because parents assume the primary responsibility for providing ambulatory post-transplant care to pediatric patients, pretransplant psychosocial evaluation in these recipients is usually focused on parents rather than on patients themselves. We sought to determine whether pretransplant parental psychosocial evaluation predicts post-transplant medical outcome at current levels of psychosocial support. We compared relative risk (RR) of rejection and hospitalizations (days of all-cause hospitalization) following initial discharge in patients in 'risk' and 'control' groups defined by their pretransplant parental psychosocial evaluation.