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Indications for gastrocsoleus lengthening in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy: a Delphi consensus study.

ABSTRACT: Purpose:Equinus is the most common deformity in cerebral palsy (CP) and gastrocsoleus lengthening (GSL) is the most commonly performed surgery to improve gait and function in ambulatory children with CP. Substantial variation exists in the indications for GSL and surgical technique. The purpose of this study was to review surgical anatomy and biomechanics of the gastrocsoleus and to utilize expert orthopaedic opinion through a Delphi technique to establish consensus for surgical indications for GSL in ambulatory children with CP. Methods:A 17-member panel, of Fellowship-trained paediatric orthopaedic surgeons, each with at least 9 years of clinical post-training experience in the surgical management of children with CP, was established. Consensus for the surgical indications for GSL was achieved through a standardized, iterative Delphi process. Results:Consensus was reached to support conservative Zone 1 surgery in diplegia and Zone 3 surgery (lengthening of the Achilles tendon) was contraindicated. Zone 2 or Zone 3 surgery reached general agreement as a choice in hemiplegia and under-correction was preferred to any degree of overcorrection. Agreement was reached that the optimum age for GSL surgery was 6 years to 10 years and should be avoided in children aged under 4 years. Physical examination measures with the child awake and under anaesthesia were important in decision making. Gait analysis was supported both for decision making and for assessing outcomes, in combination with patient reported outcomes (PROMS). Conclusions:The results from this study may encourage informed practice evaluation, reduce practice variability, improve clinical outcomes and point to questions for further research. Level of Evidence:V.

SUBMITTER: Rutz E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7666804 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Indications for gastrocsoleus lengthening in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy: a Delphi consensus study.

Rutz Erich E McCarthy James J Shore Benjamin J BJ Shrader M Wade MW Veerkamp Matthew M Chambers Henry H Davids Jon R JR Kay Robert M RM Narayanan Unni U Novacheck Tom F TF Pierz Kristan K Rhodes Jason J Shilt Jeffrey J Theologis Tim T Van Campenhout Anja A Dreher Thomas T Graham Kerr K

Journal of children's orthopaedics 20201001 5

<h4>Purpose</h4>Equinus is the most common deformity in cerebral palsy (CP) and gastrocsoleus lengthening (GSL) is the most commonly performed surgery to improve gait and function in ambulatory children with CP. Substantial variation exists in the indications for GSL and surgical technique. The purpose of this study was to review surgical anatomy and biomechanics of the gastrocsoleus and to utilize expert orthopaedic opinion through a Delphi technique to establish consensus for surgical indicati ...[more]

PMID: 33204348

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Project description:PurposeIn children with cerebral palsy, flexion deformities of the knee can be treated with a distal femoral extension osteotomy combined with either patellar tendon advancement or patellar tendon shortening. The purpose of this study was to establish a consensus through expert orthopedic opinion, using a modified Delphi process to describe the surgical indications for distal femoral extension osteotomy and patellar tendon advancement/patellar tendon shortening. A literature review was also conducted to summarize the recent literature on distal femoral extension osteotomy and patellar tendon shortening/patellar tendon advancement.MethodA group of 16 pediatric orthopedic surgeons, with more than 10 years of experience in the surgical management of children with cerebral palsy, was established. The group used a 5-level Likert-type scale to record agreement or disagreement with statements regarding distal femoral extension osteotomy and patellar tendon advancement/patellar tendon shortening. Consensus for the surgical indications for distal femoral extension osteotomy and patellar tendon advancement/patellar tendon shortening was achieved through a modified Delphi process. The literature review, summarized studies of clinical outcomes of distal femoral extension osteotomy/patellar tendon shortening/patellar tendon advancement, published between 2008 and 2022.ResultsThere was a high level of agreement with consensus for 31 out of 44 (70%) statements on distal femoral extension osteotomy. Agreement was lower for patellar tendon advancement/patellar tendon shortening with consensus reached for 8 of 21 (38%) of statements. The literature review included 25 studies which revealed variation in operative technique for distal femoral extension osteotomy, patellar tendon advancement, and patellar tendon shortening. Distal femoral extension osteotomy and patellar tendon advancement/patellar tendon shortening were generally effective in correcting knee flexion deformities and extensor lag, but there was marked variation in outcomes and complication rates.ConclusionThe results from this study will provide guidelines for surgeons who care for children with cerebral palsy and point to unresolved questions for further research.Level of evidencelevel V.

Project description:During a Delphi consensus study, a new joint gait classification system was developed for children with cerebral palsy (CP). This system, whose reliability and content validity have previously been established, identified 49 distinct joint patterns. The present study aims to provide a first insight toward the construct validity and clinical relevance of this classification system. The retrospective sample of convenience consisted of 286 patients with spastic CP (3-18 years old, GMFCS levels I-III, 166 with bilateral CP). Kinematic and kinetic trials from three-dimensional gait analysis were classified according to the definitions of the Delphi study, and one classified trial was randomly selected for each included limb (n = 446). Muscle weakness and spasticity were assessed for different muscle groups acting around the hip, knee, and ankle. Subsequently, Pearson Chi square tests, Cramer's V, and adjusted standardized residuals were calculated to explore the strength and direction of the associations between the joint patterns, and the different patient-specific characteristics (i.e., age, GMFCS level, and topographical classification) or clinical symptoms (muscle weakness and spasticity). Patient-specific characteristics showed several significant associations with the patterns of different joints, but the strength of most identified associations was weak. Apart from the knee during stance phase and the pelvis in the sagittal plane, the results systematically showed that the patterns with "minor gait deviations" were the most frequently observed. These minor deviations were found significantly more often in limbs with a lower level of spasticity and good muscle strength. Several other pathological joint patterns were moderately associated with weakness or spasticity, including but not limited to "outtoeing" for weakness and "intoeing" for spasticity. For the joints in the sagittal plane, significantly stronger associations were found with muscle weakness and spasticity, possibly because most of the evaluated muscles in this study mainly perform sagittal plane motions. Remarkably, the hip patterns in the coronal plane did not associate significantly with any of the investigated variables. Although further validation is warranted, this study contributes to the construct validity of the joint patterns of the Delphi consensus study, by demonstrating their ability to distinguish between clinically relevant subgroups in CP.

Project description:Cerebral palsy is primarily an upper motor neuron disease that results in a spectrum of progressive movement disorders. Secondary to the neurological lesion, muscles from patients with cerebral palsy are often spastic and form debilitating contractures that limit range of motion and joint function. With no genetic component, the pathology of skeletal muscle in cerebral palsy is a response to aberrant neurological input in ways that are not fully understood. This study was designed to gain further understanding of the skeletal muscle response to cerebral palsy using microarrays and correlating the transcriptional data with functional measures. Hamstring biopsies from gracilis and semitendinosus muscles were obtained from a cohort of patients with cerebral palsy (n=10) and typically developing patients (n=10) undergoing surgery. Affymetrix HG-U133A 2.0 chips (n=40) were used and expression data was verified for 6 transcripts using quantitative real-time PCR, as well as for two genes not on the microarray. Chips were clustered based on their expression and those from patients with cerebral palsy clustered separately. Significant genes were determined conservatively based on the overlap of three summarization algorithms (n=1,398). Significantly altered genes were analyzed for over-representation among gene ontologies, transcription factors, pathways, microRNA and muscle specific networks. These results centered on an increase in extracellular matrix expression in cerebral palsy as well as a decrease in metabolism and ubiquitin ligase activity. The increase in extracellular matrix products was correlated with mechanical measures demonstrating the importance in disability. These data lay a framework for further studies and novel therapies. Skeletal muscle biopsies from both the gracilis and semitendinosus were obtained during surgery for 20 pediatric subjects for affymetrix microarray analysis. We obtained a group of 10 patients undergoing medial hamstring lengthening in the cerebral palsy group and 10 patients undergoing ACL reconstruction with hamstring autograft in the control group. This provided 40 microarrays in 4 groups to analyze the effect of cerebral palsy and also differences between muscles.

Dataset Information

Indications for gastrocsoleus lengthening in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy: a Delphi consensus study.

Publications

Indications for gastrocsoleus lengthening in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy: a Delphi consensus study.

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