Quality of life in preterm with congenital heart disease

Introduction/Background Earlier studies have demonstrated that the gestational age has an influence in the survival of the children with congenital heart disease (CHD), being lower in those born preterm. Moreover, it is known that the neurodevelopmental disorders that affect both preterm (PT) children and those with CHD are a result of the underlying pathophysiology, comorbidities and associated treatments or interventions. The objective of this study is to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) in PT with complex CHD and to compare it with children with CHD born at term (AT). Material and method Data was collected prospectively in patients from 7 to 18 years old who attended a CPET cardiopulmonary exercise testing at the General University Hospital Gregorio Maranon from 07/01/17 to 12/31/2017. QoL was evaluated using the Pedsql cardiac module, a validated questionnaire that assesses the areas of heart problems, treatment, physical appearance, treatment anxiety, cognitive problems and communication. The questionnaire was answered by both parents and children. Results Four of 67 children who took the test were PT. The description of PT heart disease is shown in Table 1 . All areas appeared to be more affected in PT compared to children born AT as shown in Table 2 . Conclusion With the exception of the patient with Subaortic Stenosis, PT patients presented a lower score in the sections of physical appearance, anxiety and knowledge; being, in general, the perception of the parents more negative than the children's. These findings coincide with the results of previous studies. The number of patients is limited and our data preliminary. The real impact of prematurity on the QoL of patients with CHD should be further investigated.