Cognitive and Behavioral Functioning of Children Listed for Heart and/or Lung Transplantation

The objective of the study was to assess cognitive function and behavior in a group of children listed for heart and/or lung transplantation. Ninety-nine children (3.7-16.8 years) listed for heart and/or lung transplant for congenital heart disease (CHD), cardiomyopathy (CM), cystic fibrosis (CF) or primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) were evaluated with standardized measures of cognitive function, academic ability and behavior. Results were compared with a historical cohort of healthy children and comparisons were made between the four diagnostic subgroups. Mean subtest scores, overall IQ and achievement scores were within the normal range for the total group but were significantly lower than those of the healthy group. Although there were few significant differences between the diagnostic subgroups children with CHD or CF tended to perform at a lower level than those with CM or PPH. There were some significant issues with behavior for all diagnostic subgroups, particularly in the domain of social competence. Patients with end-stage heart or lung disease are at increased risk for cognitive and/or behavioral problems, particularly those with CHD. Follow-up of these patients after transplant is important to determine the role that psychological functioning prior to surgery has in the longer term after surgery.