Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on April 26, 2006
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2007 32(2):217-222; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsj117
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Prospective Psychological Evaluation of Pediatric Heart and HeartLung Recipients
Department of Paediatrics, Harefield Hospital
All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jo Wray, Childrens Outpatient Department, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust, Harefield Hospital, Harefield, Middlesex UB9 6JH, UK. E-mail: j.wray{at}rbh.nthames.nhs.uk.
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Objective To study psychological adjustment in children and adolescents before undergoing heart or heartlung transplantation and to reevaluate them at 6, 12, and 24 months after surgery. Methods Previously validated measures of behavior and depression were administered to children, their parents, and teachers. Parents also completed a measure of distress. Results Before transplantation, participants and parents obtained significantly higher scores on measures of behavior and psychological distress than children with no health problems and their parents, but 1 year after transplant, there were no significant differences between the two groups. Over time, there were significant improvements in depression and behavior scores in the group who had undergone transplantation. Conclusion Despite improvements in psychological functioning over time, a significant minority of children and adolescents undergoing transplantation are at risk for psychological adjustment difficulties. Psychological interventions to reduce morbidity need to be implemented and evaluated.
Key words: behavior; heart and/or lung transplantation; psychological distress.
Received March 17, 2005; revision received November 7, 2005; revision received February 27, 2006; accepted March 21, 2006
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