The APOLLO study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Academic, cognitive, motor, psychosocial and quality of life outcomes in children aged 9–11 years after surgery for complex congenital heart disease in infancy
IRAS ID
356565
Contact name
Jo Wray
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 28 days
Research summary
Complex congenital heart disease (CHD) places children at risk of neurodevelopmental and psychosocial problems. Parents have identified a need for more support at school but evidence to inform appropriate interventions is lacking. We will follow up an existing cohort of children at 9-11 years of age who underwent cardiac surgery in infancy, assessing 224 children with CHD from the study cohort and a comparison group of 224 children without CHD matched for age and sex. Psychologists will administer tests of academic achievement, intelligence and motor skills to children and parents will complete questionnaires about their own and their child's psychological functioning. A subset of parents will be interviewed about their experience of accessing support for their child.
We will test the following hypotheses:
• Children with CHD have poorer academic attainment at 9–11 years in comparison to children without CHD.
• Within the CHD cohort, children who experienced post-operative complications have poorer academic attainment than those who did not experience post-operative complications.
• Difficulties with executive function, attention and memory mediate the relationship between CHD and poorer academic attainment.
• Parents’ mental health mediates children’s academic, cognitive and psychosocial outcomes.
Elucidation of academic, cognitive, motor, psychosocial and health-related quality of life outcomes will inform the development and implementation of follow-up guidelines and interventions to improve these outcomes.REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/SC/0280
Date of REC Opinion
13 Oct 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion