Patient-based outcomes after clubfoot surgery

J Pediatr Orthop. 2001 Jan-Feb;21(1):42-9. doi: 10.1097/00004694-200101000-00010.

Abstract

Despite decades of experience in the area of clubfoot repair, considerable uncertainty remains regarding indications, surgical technique, and long-term results of treatment. Much of this uncertainty is due to the lack of a standardized and valid method for assessing postoperative outcomes of clubfoot repair. The current study used various end points to compare traditional and patient-based outcome measures and to develop a disease-specific instrument that is both meaningful to the patient and statistically valid. A cohort of 46 patients was identified, and several types of outcomes data were collected, including traditional end points of outcome (range of motion and radiographic criteria, qualitative patient-based data) and a previously validated instrument measuring pediatric functional status (FSIIr). At an average follow-up of 45 months, radiographic measures and range of motion were comparable to values published in previous studies. Postoperative functional status, as measured by the FSIIr, did not differ from that of age-matched controls. Psychometric analysis of these data allowed us to generate a 10-item disease-specific instrument (DSI), which conveyed patient-based attitudes toward outcome.

MeSH terms

  • Child, Preschool
  • Clubfoot / diagnostic imaging
  • Clubfoot / psychology
  • Clubfoot / surgery*
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Male
  • Psychometrics
  • Quality of Life
  • Radiography
  • Range of Motion, Articular
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Treatment Outcome