Idiopathic clubfoot treatment and heterogeneity of current therapeutic strategies: The Ponseti method versus the French functional method (a systematic review)

Since Hippocrates, the treatment of idiopathic clubfoot has undergone many changes, with surgical techniques and conservative approaches evolving over the centuries. Today, a wide variety of practices exist in France and throughout the world; consequently, the treatment of idiopathic clubfoot remain...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archives de pédiatrie : organe officiel de la Société française de pédiatrie 2021-07, Vol.28 (5), p.422-428
Main Authors: de La Taille, E., Sales de Gauzy, J., Gaubert Noirot, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Controversy
Functional method
Idiopathic clubfoot
Ponseti method
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Since Hippocrates, the treatment of idiopathic clubfoot has undergone many changes, with surgical techniques and conservative approaches evolving over the centuries. Today, a wide variety of practices exist in France and throughout the world; consequently, the treatment of idiopathic clubfoot remains controversial, but the Ponseti method and the functional method seem to stand out. Nevertheless, has one of them demonstrated superiority? The purpose of this review is to compare these two methods. Based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2009 recommendations, this research was conducted on Pubmed, Web of Science, and 1Findr. Only articles concerning patients with moderate or severe idiopathic clubfoot (10–17 on the Dimeglio scale) treated early using the Ponseti method or the functional method were eligible. After reviewing 49 studies, seven published between 2008 and 2018 were selected: five prospective cohort studies, one retrospective cohort study, and one meta-analysis. Each method, according to morphological and kinetic criteria, seems to have advantages that the other does not have. Although the Ponseti method is becoming the gold standard and appears more appropriate in poor countries, it is impossible to affirm its superiority over the functional method. Therefore, the combination of their advantages deserves attention: a hybrid method could be an appealing prospect for the future.
ISSN:0929-693X
1769-664X
DOI:10.1016/j.arcped.2021.04.003