The perception of the quality of life in turkish childrenwho have undergone surgical correction of a congenital gastrointestinal and abdominal anomaly

Abstract

Objective: The first aim of the study was to compare the quality of life (QoL) of 2-12 year old children, who had undergone surgical correction of their congenital abnormality at least 24 months ago, with healthy children. The secondary aim was to evaluate whether there were differences between the QoL perception of parents and children. Material and Methods: Children aged between 2-12 years, who had undergone surgical treatment for one of the six congenital abnormality groups at least 24 months ago were included in the study. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Turkish version (PedsQL™) was administered to the children and/or parents. The control group consisted of healthy children. Results: Parental reports of the Physical Health Summary Scores (PSS) and the Total Scale Scores (TSS) did not differ between the groups; however, the study group scored statistically significantly lower than the control group in the Psychosocial Health Summary Score (PsychoSS). The pediatric self-report scales showed no statistically significant difference between the study and the control groups for these three parameters. Parent proxy and child self-report scale scores showed no statistically significant correlation for PSS in both study and control groups while there was a statistically significant correlation for the Psycho SS and TSS. Conclusion: Turkish children and adolescents with surgically corrected congenital anomalies had QoL measures that were similar to their healthy peers after at least 24 months postoperatively. © 2012 by Türkiye Klinikleri.