Background and Objectives: Although survival after congenital cardiac malformations (CCM) has improved, little is known about Romanian children’s own perceptions of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) or their emotional burden. We compared HRQoL, depressive symptoms, and anxiety across lesion severity strata and explored clinical predictors of impaired HRQoL. Methods: In this cross-sectional study (1 May 2023–30 April 2025), 72 children (mean age 7.9 ± 3.0 years, 52.8% male) attending a tertiary cardiology clinic completed the Romanian-validated Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders questionnaire (SCARED-C, child version). Lesions were classified as mild (n = 22), moderate (n = 34), or severe (n = 16). Left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and unplanned cardiac hospitalisations over the preceding 12 months were extracted from electronic records. Results: Mean PedsQL total scores declined stepwise by severity (mild 80.9 ± 7.3; moderate 71.2 ± 8.4; severe 63.1 ± 5.4; p < 0.001). CDI and SCARED-C scores rose correspondingly (CDI: 9.5 ± 3.0, 13.6 ± 4.0, 18.0 ± 2.7; anxiety: 15.2 ± 3.3, 17.2 ± 3.8, 24.0 ± 3.4; both p < 0.001). PedsQL correlated positively with LVEF (r = 0.51, p < 0.001) and negatively with hospitalisations (r = −0.39, p = 0.001), depression (r = −0.44, p < 0.001), and anxiety (r = −0.47, p < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, anatomical severity remained the sole independent predictor of lower HRQoL (β = −8.4 points per severity tier, p < 0.001; model R² = 0.45). Children with ≥ 1 hospitalisation (n = 42) reported poorer HRQoL (69.6 ± 8.0 vs. 76.1 ± 11.1; p = 0.005) and higher depressive scores (p < 0.001). Conclusions: HRQoL and internalising symptoms in Romanian children with CCM worsen with increasing anatomical complexity and recent hospital utilisation. The severity tier outweighed functional markers as the main determinant of HRQoL, suggesting that psychosocial screening and support should be scaled to lesion complexity. Integrating the routine use of the Romanian-validated PedsQL, CDI, and SCARED-C questionnaire into cardiology follow-up may help identify vulnerable patients early and guide targeted interventions.

Background and Objectives: We examined how health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) and caregiver stress/burnout relate in terms of lesion severity. Methods: We enrolled 72 child–caregiver dyads at a tertiary centre (May 2023–April 2025). Children completed PedsQL and CDI (anxiety assessment via SCARED-C was descriptive and not modelled in APIM); caregivers completed SF-36, PSS-10, and the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA). Lesion severity (mild n = 22, moderate n = 34, severe n = 16) and LVEF were abstracted. Pearson correlations and actor–partner interdependence models (APIM) estimated within- and cross-partner effects. Results: Child PedsQL decreased with severity (mild 81.2 ± 7.4; moderate 70.9 ± 8.1; severe 63.3 ± 5.1; p < 0.001); caregiver SF-36 Mental Component Summary (MCS) showed a parallel gradient (66.8 ± 9.2; 59.7 ± 8.5; 54.1 ± 7.9; p < 0.001). Child HRQoL correlated with caregiver MCS (r = 0.46) and inversely with caregiver stress (PSS r = −0.42) and burnout (PBA r = −0.39). In APIM, caregiver stress predicted a caregiver’s own MCS (actor β = −0.38, p < 0.001) and the child’s PedsQL (partner β = −0.26, p = 0.002); higher child depressive symptoms predicted lower caregiver MCS (partner β = −0.22, p = 0.006). Each step up in lesion severity independently reduced child PedsQL by 7.9 points and caregiver MCS by 5.3 points (both p < 0.001). Dyads with unscheduled hospitalizations (n = 43) had poorer scores in both members. Conclusions: Psychological wellbeing in CHD dyads is strongly interdependent; caregiver stress relates to lower child HRQoL and child mood to caregiver mental health. Brief dyadic screening (PedsQL/SF-36 with PSS/CDI) and integrated, family-focused interventions may better target high-risk families, particularly with severe lesions or recent hospitalizations.

Families caring for children with congenital cardiac malformations under conservative management frequently experience psychological distress, which can compromise their overall quality of life (QoL). Despite growing recognition of the psychosocial burdens these families face, few studies have quantitatively assessed their QoL and stress-related outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the QoL, perceived stress, and parental burnout in caregivers of pediatric patients with cardiac malformations under conservative treatment. Methods: We conducted an observational, cross-sectional study of 78 caregivers (median age of 36 years) whose children (median age was 6.0 months) received conservative management for congenital cardiac malformations. Data were collected at two time points (diagnosis of congenital disease approximately at the time of birth, and six months after diagnosis) using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA). Statistical analyses included paired t-tests, chi-square tests, and Pearson correlation analyses; p-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Mean SF-36 Physical Component Summary scores significantly increased from 59.7 ± 11.7 at baseline to 63.5 ± 12.1 at six months (p = 0.026). PSS scores decreased from 22.9 ± 6.2 to 20.4 ± 5.9 (p = 0.012), indicating reduced perceived stress. Parental Burnout Assessment total scores also declined from 44.9 ± 8.5 to 40.1 ± 8.0 (p = 0.003). Correlation analyses revealed moderate negative correlations between SF-36 domains and both PSS (r range: −0.40 to −0.58) and PBA (r range: −0.34 to −0.52). Conclusions: Our findings highlight the multifaceted challenges faced by caregivers of children with cardiac malformations under conservative treatment. Improvements in QoL, accompanied by decreased perceived stress and parental burnout over six months, underscore the potential value of both clinical monitoring and targeted psychosocial support. Future research should explore larger, multicenter cohorts and longer follow-up durations to clarify long-term trends. Implementing interventions aimed at alleviating stress and burnout in these families may be pivotal for sustaining well-being and enhancing patient outcome.

Introduction: Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most frequent group of major congenital anomalies and impose a disproportionate burden on neonatal services. Antenatal detection determines where and how an affected newborn is delivered, yet reported detection rates differ several-fold between European countries. We aimed to quantify the postnatal occurrence and the antenatal detection of CHDs in a tertiary obstetric center in Western Romania and to place both figures in a comparable international context. Material and Methods: Retrospective observational study of all 10,113 births registered at the “Pius Brînzeu” County Clinical Emergency Hospital, Timișoara, between 2018 and 2022. Newborns with at least one cardiac lesion recorded on indication-based postnatal echocardiography were identified from the hospital electronic record. Interatrial communications and ductal patency recorded at the neonatal-index examination were counted inclusively and are analyzed separately from structural defects. A defect was classified as antenatally detected when it had been reported at any prenatal ultrasound scan and was subsequently confirmed postnatally. Proportions are reported with Wilson score 95% confidence intervals (CIs), separately at the level of the newborn and at the level of the individual lesion. Results: A total of 541 newborns carried at least one recorded cardiac lesion, giving an occurrence of 5.35% of births (95% CI 4.93–5.81); 670 individual lesions were recorded, a mean of 1.24 per affected newborn. Interatrial communication (n = 319; 47.6% of lesions) and ductal patency (n = 90; 13.4%) accounted for 61.0% of lesions; among the 261 structural defects, ventricular-septal defect was the most frequent (n = 121; 46.4%). An antenatal diagnosis had been made in 151 of 541 newborns (27.9%; 95% CI 24.3–31.8). Detection was highest for lesions distorting the four-chamber view, hypoplastic left-heart syndrome 4/5, and ventricular septal defect 80/121 (66.1%; 95% CI 57.3–73.9), and lowest for lesions requiring outflow-tract or arch views, including pulmonary stenosis 3/27 (11.1%; 95% CI 3.9–28.1) and aortic stenosis 0/12. Restricting the count to structural defects gives 13.1 to 25.8 affected newborns per 1000 births, against a EUROCAT total prevalence of 8.0 per 1000. Conclusions: The occurrence recorded here reflects tertiary referral, indication-based echocardiography, and an inclusive case definition rather than a genuine population excess, and is not interchangeable with registry prevalence. The antenatal detection rate of 27.9% sits between European settings without organized screening and those performing two or three routine scans per pregnancy. The detection deficit is concentrated in lesions that require outflow-tract or arch views. Because the views obtained at each scan were not recorded and detection was not stratified by prenatal-care status, the contribution of examination protocol and of access to care is inferred rather than demonstrated; both are testable hypotheses for a prospective, protocolized study.

Background and Objectives: Circulating microRNAs may provide minimally invasive biomarkers for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), but clinically interpretable data for miR-99a-5p and miR-1246 remain limited. We compared circulating levels of these two miRNAs between LSCC patients and controls and explored stage-associated differences within the cancer cohort. Methods: This single-center case–control study was conducted in Timișoara, Romania. Circulating miRNAs were quantified by RT-qPCR. Expression was summarized as ΔCt [Ct(target) − Ct(miR-16)] and as the relative expression (2^−ΔΔCt) using the control group as a calibrator. Group comparisons used Mann–Whitney U tests, associations used Spearman correlation, and the diagnostic performance was assessed by ROC analysis and multivariable logistic regression. Results: Fourteen controls were compared with cancer patients with available miRNA measurements (miR-99a-5p, n = 53; miR-1246, n = 49). miR-99a-5p showed significantly higher ΔCt values in cancer patients than in the controls (5.308 [IQR 4.139–6.864] vs. 3.184 [2.142–3.708], p < 0.001), corresponding to a lower relative expression (fold-change 0.200 [0.068–0.449], p < 0.001). miR-1246 did not differ significantly between cancer and controls (p = 0.09). Within the cancer cohort, advanced-stage disease showed a lower relative miR-1246 expression than early-stage disease (ΔCt 5.820 [4.502–6.972] vs. 4.233 [3.109–5.372], p = 0.01; fold-change 0.363 vs. 1.091, p = 0.01), while miR-99a-5p showed a non-significant difference in the same direction (p = 0.052). miR-99a-5p discriminated cancer patients from the controls with an AUC of 0.842 (95% CI 0.744–0.931), sensitivity of 77.4%, and specificity of 92.9% at ΔCt = 4.018. In multivariable analysis, ΔCt(miR-99a-5p) remained independently associated with cancer status (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.19–3.00; p = 0.007). Conclusions: Circulating miR-99a-5p showed the strongest diagnostic signal in LSCC, whereas miR-1246 appeared more informative for stage-associated biological stratification.

Background/Objectives: Neglect of children’s oral health is a major concern at international, national, and regional levels. Of all the health problems that can occur in childhood, dental ones are among the most common. Tooth decay, for example, is a chronic condition in children and can have long-term consequences, especially in otorhinolaryngology and pediatric diseases if not treated properly. Methods: The data collection method was questionnaire. Questionnaires were administered to parents regarding oral hygiene habits and access to dental services; data were collected in dental offices across Timiș County, encompassing urban, peri-urban, and rural settings. Children enrolled in the study underwent clinical dental examinations to assess their oral health status (dental caries, gingival diseases, developmental anomalies). Results: Parental education level was not significantly associated with the habit of annual dental check-ups (χ², p = 0.092); however, a directional trend was observed. Total monthly family income was significantly associated with the stated reason for not attending dental check-ups (one-way ANOVA, p = 0.043): families with lower incomes more frequently cited financial and logistical barriers, whereas higher-income families cited lack of time or perceived lack of necessity. Parental education level (p < 0.001) and family income (p < 0.001) were both significantly associated with daily tooth-brushing frequency. Conclusions: The efforts of specialists must be increased through coherent policies, adapted education, and real support for vulnerable groups. An informed child, with supported parents, is a child with a real chance at a healthy life. This is not just a professional opinion, but a collective responsibility.