Health-related quality of life and cognitive function in children with Crigler–Najjar syndrome type 1

The aim of the study was to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and cognitive function in patients with Crigler–Najjar syndrome (CNS) type I and its impact on their lives. Twenty-one patients diagnosed with CNS type I aged 1 month to 18 years in the Paediatric Hepatology Unit of Cairo University Children’s Hospital were enrolled in this cross-sectional observational study. The patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was assessed using the World Health Organization Quality Of Life BREF questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36). Cognitive function was assessed using the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scale: Fifth Edition (SB5). All patients had a history of admission to a neonatal intensive care unit, 17 were managed by phototherapy only and 5 also underwent exchange transfusion. According to the WHOQOL questionnaire, 11 cases (52.4%) had a low QOL score, and 7 of 13 patients had an average score for their total IQ test. Cases with poor compliance to phototherapy had statistically significantly lower QOL scores (<i>p</i>=0.001), while, according to the SF36 survey, cases who received exchange transfusion had statistically significantly higher cognitive function (<i>p</i>=0.03). There was a positive correlation between the neurological effect as a complication of the disease and poor physical QOL. Paediatric patients with CNS have significantly lower HRQOL, especially physically, psychologically and environmentally. It is recommended that assessment of HRQOL should be a routine part of follow-up in CNS patients. Patients whose HRQOL is affected receive regular psychiatric counselling, social support and rehabilitation. <b>Abbreviations:</b> CNS: Crigler–Najjar syndrome; HRQOL: health-related quality of life; IQ: intelligence quotient; NICU: neonatal intensive care unit; QOL: quality of life; SB5: Stanford–Binet intelligence scale: 5th edition; SF–36: Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire; UDGT: uridine diphosphate glucuronosyl transferase; UGT1A1: uridine 5’–diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase; WHOQOL–BREF: World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version.