Dynamic and Static Splinting for Treatment of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip: A Systematic Review
Vito Pavone,
Claudia de Cristo,
Andrea Vescio,
Ludovico Lucenti,
Marco Sapienza,
Giuseppe Sessa,
Piero Pavone,
Gianluca Testa
Affiliations
Vito Pavone
Department of General Surgery and Medical Surgical Specialties, Section of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Claudia de Cristo
Department of General Surgery and Medical Surgical Specialties, Section of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Andrea Vescio
Department of General Surgery and Medical Surgical Specialties, Section of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Ludovico Lucenti
Department of General Surgery and Medical Surgical Specialties, Section of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Marco Sapienza
Department of General Surgery and Medical Surgical Specialties, Section of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Giuseppe Sessa
Department of General Surgery and Medical Surgical Specialties, Section of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Piero Pavone
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Pediatrics and Child Neuropsychiatry, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Gianluca Testa
Department of General Surgery and Medical Surgical Specialties, Section of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Background: Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is one of the most common pediatric conditions. The current gold-standard treatment for children under six months of age with a reducible hip is bracing, but the orthopedic literature features several splint options, and each one has many advantages and disadvantages. The aim of this review is to analyze the available literature to document the up-to-date evidence on DDH conservative treatment. Methods: A systematic review of PubMed and Science Direct databases was performed by two independent authors (C.d.C. and A.V.) using the keywords “developmental dysplasia hip”, “brace”, “harness”, “splint”, “abduction brace” to evaluate studies of any level of evidence that reported clinical or preclinical results and dealt with conservative DDH treatment. The result of every stage was reviewed and approved by the senior investigators (V.P. and G.T.). Results: A total of 1411 articles were found. After the exclusion of duplicates, 367 articles were selected. At the end of the first screening, following the previously described selection criteria, we selected 29 articles eligible for full text reading. The included articles mainly focus on the Pavlik harness, Frejka, and Tubingen among the dynamic splint applications as well as the rhino-style brace, Ilfeld and generic abduction brace among the static splint applications. The main findings of the included articles were summarized. Conclusions: Dynamic splinting for DDH represents a valid therapeutic option in cases of instability and dislocation, especially if applied within 4–5 months of life. Dynamic splinting has a low contraindication. Static bracing is an effective option too, but only for stable hips or residual acetabular dysplasia.
