Brace may prevent further hip displacement in children with nonambulatory cerebral palsy
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Published results showed use of a novel hip brace was effective for preventing progression of hip displacement and improving quality of life in patients with nonambulatory cerebral palsy.
In a prospective, single-blinded randomized clinical trial, Bo Ryun Kim, MD, PhD, and colleagues tested the efficacy of a novel hip brace for the prevention of hip displacement in 66 children with cerebral palsy (gross motor function classification system level 4 or 5). According to the study, the brace was developed for research and approved by the South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety as a class 1 medical device.
Researchers randomized 33 patients (mean age of 68.7 months) to wear the hip brace, designed to compresses the capsule and ligaments around the hip where displacement occurs, for a minimum of 12 hours per day for 1 year. The other 33 patients (mean age of 60.7 months) were randomized to a control group with no bracing. Both cohorts received conventional physical therapy for the duration of the 1-year study period. Outcome measures were assessed at 6-month and 1-year follow-ups and included the Reimers migration index (MI) on radiographs, as well as quality of life (QoL) scores.
At baseline, mean MI was 37.4% in the bracing group and 30.6% in the control group. At 1 year, mean MI decreased to 34.6% in the bracing group and increased to 40.1% in the control group. Mean difference of MI in the bracing group vs. the control group was 8.7 percentage points at 6 months and 12.7 percentage points at 1 year. Additionally, researchers noted QoL scores reached a “statistically significant” improvement in the bracing group compared with the control group at 6 months.
“[The brace] effectively slowed and improved displacement and improved QoL in patients with cerebral palsy,” Kim and colleagues wrote in the study. “Therefore, brace use could comprise a promising treatment method to delay hip surgery in patients with cerebral palsy.”
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