Unilateral limb orthosis for maintenance of deformity correction following treatment of clubfoot with Ponseti technique: a systematic review

Purpose The systematic review study aimed to investigate the following details in the clubfoot children treated with the Ponseti technique: (1) to review the various designs and prescriptions of unilateral limb orthosis described in literature (2) to find the outcome following use of this orthosis, especially patient adherence and recurrence (3) comparison with standard bilateral limb foot abduction orthosis. Material and methods A literature search was performed for articles published in 'Pubmed (includes Medline indexed journals)' electronic databases for broad key words: 'Clubfoot or CTEV or congenital talipes equinovarus', 'orthosis or brace or splint'. Included were studies that addressed the treatment of idiopathic clubfoot in children up to 2 years of age using the Ponseti technique and use of unilateral limb orthosis for the subsequent maintenance phase. We excluded studies reporting Ponseti technique for nonidiopathic clubfoot, child age older than 2 years at the time of primary treatment, studies where unilateral limb orthosis was used as a tool for primary correction of all or some components of clubfoot and design descriptions of orthosis without practical usage data. Results Of the 1537 articles from the database, 10 articles were included in the final review. Most studies were retrospective, underpowered and had a short term follow-up. In some series, the use of this orthosis was driven by personal experiences and regional preferences rather than a just scientific explanation. The tested designs were variable and nonstandardized. Being less restrictive, unilateral limb orthosis may have an edge over bilateral limb orthosis in terms of patient adherence. The available comparative studies however showed inferiority of unilateral orthoses when compared to the bilateral limb orthosis in preventing recurrences in clubfoot treatment. Conclusions There is insufficient evidence to support use of unilateral limb orthosis for maintenance of deformity correction following treatment of clubfoot with the Ponseti technique. Their use was found associated with high recurrence rates.