Quality of Life in Pediatric Patients with Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to evaluate health-related quality of life in pediatric patients with avascular necrosis of the femoral head.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A comparative study was conducted involving 32 children and adolescents in "ONFH Group" (subjects with a diagnosis of ONFH) and 44 in "Comparison Group" (asymptomatic children), both aged between 8 and 18. Clinical and sociodemographic data were obtained along with PedsQL 4.0 questionnaires to evaluate the quality of life in the age-ranges studied.

RESULTS: The two groups were similar as regards sociodemographic characteristics. Comparison of the quality of life total scores demonstrated significant differences between the ONFH group and the comparison group (58.86±16.54 versus 82.08±9.51), and this also occurred in all the domains analyzed. The predictors that showed correlation with the quality of life were: presence of necrosis, age, time of diagnosis, radiographic classification, Charnley score, educational level, previous surgeries, and previous infections.

CONCLUSION: Our data confirm the hypothesis that pediatric patients with ONFH demonstrate a lower quality of life than healthy children in all the domains evaluated, especially with regard to the physical aspect.