Measuring Clubfoot Brace Adherence

Relapse of clubfoot deformity has been attributed to non-adherence to post-corrective bracing recommendations. The October 5, 2016 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery contains a study by Sangiorgio, et al. in which wireless sensors measured the actual brace use in 44 patients aged 6 months to 4 years who were supposed to use a post-corrective foot abduction orthosis for an average of 12.6 hours per day. The authors compared the mean number of hours of daily brace use as measured by the sensors with the physician-recommended hours and with parent-reported hours of brace use.

Here’s what Sangiorgio et al. found:

–Median brace use recorded by the sensors was 62% of that recommended by the physician and 77% of that reported by parents.

–18% of the patients experienced relapse. The mean number of daily hours of brace use for those patients (5 hours a day) was significantly lower than the 8 hours per day for those who didn’t experience relapse.

While this study suggests that 8 hours or more of daily brace use may be helpful to prevent relapse, studies with larger cohorts will be needed to determine more definitive bracing minimums. Still, the authors say that “routine brace monitoring has the potential to accurately identify patients who are receiving an inadequate number of hours of brace use and facilitate more effective counseling of these families.”