@Article{chd.12777,
AUTHOR = {Oscar Werner, Fedoua El Louali, Virginie Fouilloux, Pascal Amedro, Caroline Ovaert},
TITLE = {Parental anxiety before invasive cardiac procedure in children with congenital heart disease: Contributing factors and consequences},
JOURNAL = {Structural and Congenital Heart Disease},
VOLUME = {14},
YEAR = {2019},
NUMBER = {5},
PAGES = {778--784},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/schd/v14n5/38838},
ISSN = {3071-1738},
ABSTRACT = {<b>Objective:</b> Medical information provided to parents of a child with a congenital heart 
disease can induce major stress. Visual analog scales have been validated to assess 
anxiety in the adult population. The aim of this study was to analyze parental anxiety 
using a visual analog scale and to explore the influencing factors.<br/>
<b>Design:</b> This prospective cross‐sectional study.<br/>
<b>Setting:</b> Tertiary care regional referral center for congenital heart disease of 
Marseille—La Timone university hospital.<br/>
<b>Patients:</b> Parents of children with a congenital heart disease, as defined by the ACC‐
CHD classification, referred for cardiac surgery or interventional cardiac catheterization, were offered to participate.<br/>
<b>Intervention and outcome measure:</b> The parental level of anxiety was assessed using 
a visual analog scale (0‐10) before intervention and after complete information given 
by the cardiologist, the surgeon or the anesthetists.<br/>
<b>Results:</b> Seventy‐three children [7 days‐13 years], represented by 49 fathers and 71 
mothers, were included in the study. A total of 42 children required cardiac surgery 
and 31 children underwent interventional cardiac catheterization. The mean score of 
maternal anxiety was significantly higher than the paternal anxiety (8.2 vs 6.3, P < .01). 
A high level of maternal anxiety (visual analog scale > 8) was associated with paternal 
anxiety (P = .02), the child's comorbidity (P = .03), the distance between home and 
referral center (P = .04), and the level of risk adjustment for congenital heart surgery 
(P = .01). In multivariate analysis, maternal anxiety was associated with paternal anxiety 
(OR = 4.9; 95% confidence interval [1.1‐19.2]), and the level of risk adjustment for congenital heart surgery (OR = 11.4; 95% confidence interval [1.2‐116.2]). No significant 
association was found between parental anxiety and prenatal diagnosis.<br/>
<b>Conclusion:</b> This study highlighted several factors associated with the parental anxiety. Identifying the parents at risk of high stress can be useful to set up psychological 
support during hospitalization.},
DOI = {10.1111/chd.12777}
}