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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05293743

Novel Dynamic Foot Abduction Bar for Treatment of Clubfoot

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate a new Dynamic Bar for foot abduction bracing for clubfoot treatment. The main questions that this study aims to answer are:

* How easy is it to recruit and retain participants for a randomized-controlled effectiveness trial of a novel foot abduction bar? * How does parental perception of child comfort in the Dynamic Bar compare to parental perception of child comfort in standard bars? * How does patient tolerance of the Dynamic Bar compare patient tolerance of standard bars? * How effective is the Dynamic Bar at preventing clubfoot recurrence during the bracing phase when the brace is worn as prescribed for a 30-day trial period?

Each participant will be randomized into one of two arms: the experimental arm or the control arm. For the first 30 days, the experimental arm will wear the new Dynamic Bar with standard boots and the control arm will continue wearing their standard bar. After this 30-day period, the experimental arm will return to wearing their standard bar.

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Key information

Conditions

Clubfoot Congenital Abnormalities Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities Foot Deformities Foot Deformities, Acquired Foot Deformities, Congenital Limb Deformities, Congenital Lower Extremity Deformities, Congenital Musculoskeletal Abnormalities Musculoskeletal Diseases Talipes

Age range

1 year–3 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

The Hospital for Sick Children

Toronto, Ontario, M5G1X8, Canada

About this study

This is an assessor-blinded randomized feasibility trial assessing the feasibility of conducting a large-scale clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a new dynamic bar for foot abduction bracing for clubfoot treatment. Feasibility will be determined by the ability to recruit patients within the goal study period and to retain participants. Eligible patients must have a well-corrected idiopathic clubfoot (Pirani Score ≤ 0.5) and be in the minimum 12 hours per day bracing stage of the Ponseti clubfoot treatment protocol. The overall study period will be 90 days in length. For the first 30 days, the experimental cohort will wear the new Dynamic Bar (DB) with standard ankle-foot orthoses (boots) and the control cohort will continue wearing their Standard Bar (SB). After this 30-day period, the experimental cohort will return to wearing their SB.

All patients will be evaluated on Day 0, Day 7, Day 30, and Day 90 of the study period to monitor for recurrence of the clubfoot deformity, complications of brace wearing, to submit brace wear logs, and to complete parent-reported questionnaires regarding their perceptions of the Foot Abduction Brace (FAB) and their child's comfort. A minimum of 10 patients per arm will be recruited. A temperature sensor will be added in each participant's boots during the 90-day study period to objectively measure time of brace wear. It is hypothesized that when patients are wearing the DB, they will experience higher brace tolerance defined as increased wear time of the brace as measured by the temperature sensors, and higher comfort levels as reported by parents, without an increase in clubfoot deformity recurrence compared to the SB.

Most patient information that will be reviewed in this study is data being collected and stored per the REB-approved Clubfoot Research Registry protocol (REB #1000053919). All patients enrolled in study this will also be enrolled in Clubfoot Research Registry, if not already enrolled.

The novel DB is designed by the research team and allows independent movement of the knees and hips while maintaining a corrective position of the foot.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Ability of parent/care giver to complete brace wear log/surveys in English
  • Diagnosis of idiopathic clubfoot (unilateral or bilateral).
  • Current use of a SB with their Foot Abduction Brace.
  • In the minimum 12-hour per day bracing stage of the Ponseti treatment
  • Aged 1 to 3 years (as the DB prototype was designed based on the average size and strength of a child within that age group).
  • Well-corrected clubfoot/clubfeet (Pirani score ≤ 0.5)
  • Enrollment in the SickKids Clubfoot Research Registry.

Exclusion criteria

  • Recurrent clubfoot deformity at time of recruitment and/or Day 0 in study period: Pirani score above 0.5; Presence of cavus, adduction, or hindfoot varus; Less than 10 degrees of passive ankle dorsiflexion.
  • Current complaint of significant brace intolerance.
  • Any condition or diagnosis, that could in the opinion of the Principal Investigator or delegate interfere with the participant's ability to comply with study instructions, might confound the interpretation of the study results, or put the participant at risk, i.e., skin conditions such as eczema, neurologic conditions or any non-idiopathic clubfoot, any acute or chronic illness perceived to be causing the child discomfort such as a cold or flu or other concurrent painful procedure.
  • The patient does not adequately fit the available prototype, e.g., shoulder width distance is too narrow or wide for prototype bar width. However, these patients will be recorded in the study enrollment log to identify the size of this subset. The age and fit issues of these patients will also be recorded to allow future adaptations of the new DB to accommodate this subset.
  • The patient is using an older boot model, in which a temperature sensor cannot be inserted, and the patient does not adequately fit the available boots, in which the temperature sensors have already been installed.

Treatment and study plan

Foot abduction bracing for clubfoot with novel Dynamic Bar

Device

After Ponseti treatment of serial casting and tenotomy for clubfoot, patients are braced full time x 3 months then night time until age 5. This study compares standard bars in a foot abduction brace to our novel Dynamic Bar. This group uses the Dynamic Bar.

Foot abduction bracing for clubfoot with Standard Bar

Device

After Ponseti treatment of serial casting and tenotomy for clubfoot, patients are braced full time x 3 months then night time until age 5. This study compares standard bars in a foot abduction brace to our novel Dynamic Bar. This group uses the Standard Bar.

Primary outcomes

  1. Recruitment of Patients for a Prospective Trial Comparing Clubfoot Brace Types

    Time frame: Recruitment period lasted approximately 8 months.

    The study's recruitment rate was calculated to evaluate the ease of recruiting participants for a randomized-controlled effectiveness trial of a novel foot abduction bar. A recruitment rate less than 50% is considered a poor indicator for ease of recruitment and protocols for a future study should be revisited to improve recruitment strategies.

  2. Retention of Patients for a Prospective Trial Comparing Clubfoot Brace Types

    Time frame: Study period lasted approximately 90 days.

    The dropout rate was calculated to evaluate the ease of retaining participants for a randomized-controlled effectiveness trial of a novel FAB bar. A dropout rate greater than 20% is considered a poor indicator for ease of participant retention.

  3. Parent Satisfaction in a Prospective Trial Comparing Clubfoot Brace Types

    Time frame: Study period lasted approximately 90 days.

    On the first day of the study, parents were asked in a questionnaire if they had any concerns about participating in the study. On the last day of the study, parents were asked if they would be interested in participating in a future study of the Dynamic Bar.

    These questions were asked to evaluate the ease of achieving parent satisfaction during a randomized-controlled effectiveness trial of a novel FAB bar.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Parental Perception of Child Comfort - How the Dynamic Bar Compares to the Standard Bar

    Time frame: Study period lasted approximately 90 days.

    On the last day of the study, parents in the experimental arm were asked in a questionnaire how they thought the Dynamic Bar compared to their original bar, regarding their child's comfort. This was asked to compare parental perception of child comfort in the Dynamic Bar to the Standard Bar.

  2. Parental Perception of Child Comfort - Preferred Bar

    Time frame: Parents were asked to indicate their preferred bar for clubfoot bracing at the end of the study's intervention period (after approximately 30 days) and on the last day of the study (after approximately 90 days).

    Parents in the experimental arm were asked to indicate their preferred bar for clubfoot bracing at two different points during the study. This was asked to compare parental perception of child comfort in the Dynamic Bar to the Standard Bar.

  3. Parental Perception of Child Comfort - If Child Had a Hard Time Returning to the Standard Bar After Wearing the Dynamic Bar

    Time frame: Study period lasted approximately 90 days.

    On the last day of the study period, parents in the experimental arm were asked in a questionnaire if their child had a hard time returning to the Standard Bar after wearing the Dynamic Bar for approximately 30 days. This was asked to compare parental perception of child comfort in the Dynamic Bar to the Standard Bar.

  4. Parental Perception of Child Comfort - Comparison of 5-point Likert Scale Responses

    Time frame: Intervention period lasted approximately 30 days.

    On the first day of the study period, parents in the experimental arm were asked about their child's comfort in the Standard Bar, their child's ability to move their feet/legs normally in the Standard Bar, and their satisfaction with the weight, shape, and size of the Standard Bar.

    Following the study's intervention period, parents in the experimental arm were asked the same questions about the Dynamic Bar.

    Average survey responses were then compared in order to compare parental perception of child comfort in the Dynamic Bar to the Standard Bar.

    Possible survey answers ranged from strongly disagree/very unsatisfied (1) to strongly agree/very satisfied (5). A higher score indicates a more positive perception of the bar.

  5. Patient Tolerance of Bracing - Experimental Arm vs. Control Arm - Overall Average

    Time frame: Intervention period lasted approximately 30 days.

    Each patient's brace wear was recorded by parent-report brace logs and iButton temperature sensors in order to compare patient tolerance of the Standard Bar to the Dynamic Bar. For each patient, a bracing adherence fraction was calculated by dividing their average number of daily bracing hours by their prescribed number of daily bracing hours.

    The average adherence fraction in the experimental arm was compared to the average adherence fraction in the control arm during the study's intervention period. Under normal circumstances, the intervention period was the time between the patient's Day 0 visit and Day 30 visit, as that is the period in which patients in the experimental arm should be wearing the Dynamic Bar. However, if a patient in the experimental arm broke the Dynamic Bar and had to return to the Standard Bar during this period, those days were not included in the intervention period.

    This analysis aims to assess if bar type significantly affects bracing tolerance

  6. Patient Tolerance of Bracing - Dynamic Bar vs. Standard Bar (Experimental Arm Only) - Overall Average

    Time frame: Experimental arm used the Dynamic Bar for approximately 30 days, then used the Standard Bar for approximately 60 days

    Each patient's brace wear was recorded by parent-report brace logs and iButton temperature sensors in order to compare patient tolerance of the Standard Bar to the Dynamic Bar. For each patient, a bracing adherence fraction was calculated by dividing their average number of daily bracing hours by their prescribed number of daily bracing hours.

    Since patients in the experimental arm used both the Dynamic Bar and the Standard Bar during the study period, their average adherence fraction when wearing the Dynamic Bar was compared to their average adherence fraction when wearing the Standard Bar over the entire study period.

    This analysis aims to assess if bar type significantly affects bracing tolerance.

  7. Patient Tolerance of Bracing - Dynamic Bar vs. Standard Bar (Experimental Arm Only) - N of 1

    Time frame: Experimental arm used the Dynamic Bar for approximately 30 days, then used the Standard Bar for approximately 60 days

    Each patient's brace wear was recorded by parent-report brace logs and iButton temperature sensors in order to compare patient tolerance of the Standard Bar to the Dynamic Bar. For each patient, a bracing adherence fraction was calculated by dividing their average number of daily bracing hours by their prescribed number of daily bracing hours.

    Since patients in the experimental arm used both the Dynamic Bar and the Standard Bar during the study period, their average adherence fraction when wearing the Dynamic Bar was compared to their average adherence fraction when wearing the Standard Bar over the entire study period.

    This analysis aims to assess if bar type significantly affects bracing tolerance.

  8. Number of Clubfoot Recurrences During the Study Period

    Time frame: Study period lasted approximately 90 days.

    All clubfoot recurrences that occurred during the study period were tracked to perform a preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of the Dynamic Bar at preventing clubfoot recurrence.

    For this analysis, clubfoot recurrence was pre-defined as a Pirani score > 0.5, a new occurrence of cavus, adduction and/or hindfoot varus, or a loss of passive ankle dorsiflexion (equinus) of < 10 degrees above neutral or a reduction of 5 or more degrees from the previous visit. All adverse adverse events that were deemed "unrelated" to the foot abduction bar, per the blinded outcomes assessor, were omitted from this analysis.

    The null hypothesis is that 'the Dynamic Bar does not lead to higher rates of clubfoot recurrence,' and it will be rejected if the number of patients who wore their FAB as prescribed and develop clubfoot recurrence, is substantially greater in the experimental arm than it is in the control arm (i.e. a difference of more than 2 cases).

Other outcomes

  1. Video Data Analysis - Comparing the Range of Motion Provided by the Dynamic Bar vs. Standard Bar

    Time frame: Each video recording was approximately 2 minutes in length.

    Parents were given the option of consenting to video recordings being taken of the patient's feet and legs while wearing their prescribed bar. These videos were closely studied to compare the range of motion provided by the Standard Bar to the Dynamic Bar, and to verify that the Dynamic Bar consistently maintains proper foot position and leg alignment during use.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

The Hospital for Sick Children

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Development and Evaluation of Novel Dynamic Bar for Foot Abduction Brace for Clubfoot Treatment

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Mar 24, 2022
Registry last updated
May 22, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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