Patient-Reported Efficacy of the University of California, San Francisco, Custom Pectus Carinatum Orthosis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Pectus carinatum is a bony deformity of the anterior chest wall and has a strong negative impact on patient self-esteem and quality of life. During adolescence, the deformity is often flexible and can be treated with a compressive orthosis. Compliance with orthoses yields deformity correction and self-esteem improvement (J Pediatr Surg. 2013;48:1055-1059). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the compliance to and patient satisfaction with the custom University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Pectus Carinatum Orthosis (PCO) design. Materials and Methods This was a cross-sectional survey of the patients who received orthotic treatment for pectus carinatum at UCSF between August 2012 and June 2018. Potential subjects were contacted and asked to complete the Pectus Carinatum Evaluation Questionnaire (PCEQ), which was administered online via Research Electronic Data Capture. The PCEQ measures compliance as well as the physical and psychosocial impact of orthotic treatment for pectus carinatum. Results were compiled and summarized using nonparametric descriptive statistics. Results Of the 35 consented subjects, 12 (11 male patients and 1 female patient aged 12–17 years) completed the survey. Subjects reported an average wear time of 12.7 hours per day, 5 days a week. Seven reported no symptoms, three experienced chest pain, two reported difficulty breathing, and one had back pain. Eight reported happiness with the results of their orthotic treatment. Conclusion Wear times reported by the subjects were comparable with those reported in other studies looking at prefabricated pectus orthoses. However, there were lower reports of pain associated with the UCSF treatment than in other studies. Further research is necessary to determine the benefit of custom fabricated versus prefabricated PCOs.