Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39757341›Full record

ArticleQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2025

"I think her life got so much better": parents' perceptions of children's quality of life following treatment of tracheomalacia with aortopexy.

Bethany L Brockbank, Greg S J Dewar, Richard J D Hewitt, Colin C R Butler, Jo Wray

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Article in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Bethany L BrockbankUniversity College London, GOS Institute of Child Health, London, UK. Bethany.brockbank1@nhs.net.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4893-4489
Greg S J DewarDunedin Hospital, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Dunedin, New Zealand.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0970-9342
Richard J D HewittTracheal Team, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK.
Colin C R ButlerTracheal Team, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK.
Jo WrayCentre for Outcomes and Experience Research in Children's Health, Illness and Disability, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAortopexy is a procedure to reduce pressure on the trachea in children with severe tracheomalacia. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has not been studied in children who have undergone aortopexy; we aimed to explore parents' perceptions of their child's HRQoL before and after aortopexy.

methodsParents of children < 18 years who underwent aortopexy at a quaternary specialist centre were purposively sampled and invited to participate in a semi-structured interview. Data were analysed using reflective thematic and content analysis.

resultsEight interviews (23-56 min) were completed with parents whose children were aged 1.9-12.1 years. HRQoL is explored through themes: a challenging diagnosis, lifechanging, and an understanding of limitations. Parents struggled to obtain a diagnosis of tracheomalacia while their child experienced serious symptoms. Aortopexy was seen as life-saving and allowed a return to family life. Airway safety, having their health and achieving a better quality of life were important outcomes of the procedure.

conclusionQuality of life following aortopexy was perceived to be greatly improved. Children still struggled in aspects of their life, however families worked within their child's limitations, appreciating the life-saving nature of the intervention, and accepting the complexities of their child's comorbidities. Holistic interventions are important for those at risk of poor HRQoL outcomes.

Indexed as

ParentsQuality of LifeTracheomalaciaChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansInfantInterviews as TopicMaleAortopexyHealth-related quality of lifePatient experienceQualitativeTracheomalacia

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.