Purpose: This study examined the health-related quality of life among children who have undergone surgery for tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) compared to healthy children.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Methods: The study was carried out at Children's Heart Hospital and Primary Healthcare Centers in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, between July 1, 2022, and November 1, 2022. The study involved 400 participants, comprised of 200 parents of healthy children and 200 parents with children with repaired TOF. Data collection involved utilizing a 5-point Likert Scale questionnaire administered through direct face-to-face interviews with the parents of the children.
Findings: Children with surgically repaired TOF had markedly lower mean scores (P ≤ 0.001) in the overall dimension of QoL (Mean rank = 137) when compared to healthy children (Mean rank = 263). Furthermore, it was observed that children with repaired TOF had significantly lower mean scores (P < 0.001) across all subdimensions of QoL compared to their healthy counterparts. In the subject of children with repaired TOF, the impact of maternal education (illiterate and lower education) on overall QoL was found to be highly significant (P < 0.001). In addition, children with repaired TOF from lower socioeconomic status (SES) families had worse quality of life than those from medium and high SES families, with a p-value <0.001.
Conclusions: Repaired TOF children exhibited notable deficiencies across all dimensions of QoL compared to healthy children. Moreover, SES emerged as a significant determinant influencing the QoL outcomes of repaired TOF children.
Clinical evidence: Despite undergoing corrective surgery for TOF, the QoL in children with repaired TOF continues to be lower than that of their healthy counterparts. Notably, the economic and educational status of the family significantly impacts the way these children perceive and experience their QoL. This finding underscores the critical significance of factoring in socioeconomic elements when addressing the well-being of this particular group of children.