RESEARCH ARTICLE
Assessment of Triangle Tilt Surgery in Children with Obstetric Brachial Plexus Injury Using the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument
Rahul K Nath*, Meera B Avila, Priyanka Karicherla , Chandra Somasundaram
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2011Volume: 5
First Page: 385
Last Page: 388
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-5-385
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001105010385
Article History:
Received Date: 20/9/2011Revision Received Date: 3/11/2011
Acceptance Date: 3/11/2011
Electronic publication date: 14/12/2011
Collection year: 2011
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background:
The benefits of triangle tilt surgery in children with OBPI have been previously validated through measurements of statistical improvements in Mallet scores and in glenohumeral congruity. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of triangle tilt surgery through the application of the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument, a well validated questionnaire designed to evaluate function and comfort in children with musculoskeletal disorders.
Methods:
OBPI patients between 2 and 10 years of age who came to our institute for routine office visits between May 2009 and October 2009 were considered to participate in the study. Among the patient group, the first 130 completed surveys who met the study criteria were included in the study. The Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument was completed by the parents of patients who have undergone triangle tilt surgery (Group 1: N=63) or those who were considered candidates for this procedure (Group 2: N=67). The results were compared between the two patient groups and analyzed using the unpaired student’s t-test. Later, 23 patients from the group 2, underwent triangle tilt surgery (Group 3). We collected post-op data, compared and analyzed the outcome of the surgery in these patients to their own pre-op PODCI scores, using the paired student’s t test.
Results:
In patients who have undergone triangle tilt surgery, significantly higher PODCI scores were observed in the parameters of upper extremity function (p<0.05), sports/physical function (p<0.05), basic mobility (p<0.0001) and global functioning (p<0.05), when compared to patients who have not undergone triangle tilt surgery. Further, PODCI scores in group 3 patients were significantly higher after surgery in the parameters of upper extremity function (p <0.03), Pain/Comfort (p <0.05), basic mobility (p<0.0002) and global functioning (p<0.03), when compared to before triangle tilt surgery.
Conclusion:
The results of the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument demonstrate the functional benefits of triangle tilt surgery in patients with obstetric brachial plexus injury.
