The Efficacy of the Ponseti Method in the Management of Clubfoot: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Clubfoot is a congenital abnormality of the lower extremities, and it may be unilateral or bilateral. Left untreated, it may lead to issues with walking. Additionally, inappropriate treatment or the lack of treatment can result in functional damage. The goal of clubfoot treatment is to correct the deformities of the involved components. The Ponseti method has been regarded as the gold standard for the treatment of clubfoot as it is safe and effective. In this review, we aimed to assess the success of the Ponseti method in the treatment of clubfoot by reviewing the previous studies on this subject. We searched electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholar, for relevant articles spanning the period from 2018 to 2023. The keywords used in the search were "Ponseti method, Treatment, Outcomes, Success, Relapse, Failure, and Rates." The inclusion criteria were original articles in English on clubfoot patients treated with the Ponseti method.While our search yielded a total of 1,037 articles, only nine were deemed eligible for analysis based on the inclusion criteria. The articles involved a total of 537 feet of 358 patients and the age of the patients ranged from one day to five years. The success rate ranged between 55% and 100%, and the relapse rate ranged between 3.2% and 34.2%. Based on our findings, the Ponseti method has a high success rate in the treatment of idiopathic clubfoot, and hence it is an excellent conservative method of treatment. However, there are additional factors that may affect the treatment outcomes, which need to be taken into account.

Prevalence and associated factors of clubfoot in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia: A hospital-based study

“…Several studies have observed that CTEV was associated with deletion of CASP10 , an apoptosis regulatory gene on chromosome 2 (2q31-33)[ 7 ]. Other suggested causes include abnormalities of joint and/or bone formation, uterine restriction (oligohydramnios), and neurological and vascular abnormalities that occur in the second trimester of pregnancy[ 1 , 8 ]. Numerous studies have reported male sex, maternal age, maternal smoking, maternal marital status, maternal education, and maternal diabetes as associated with increased risk of CTEV[ 9 ].…”