In 2010, researchers in Australia proposed guidelines designed to improve best practice reporting of AFO designs and alignments for children with cerebral palsy (CP). They addressed three key details: ankle angle of the AFO, shank-to-vertical angle of an AFO-footwear combination, and any tuning or optimizing process undertaken. In a new literature review, investigators evaluated the extent to which authors and editors of research studies are following the reporting guidelines.
The search of eight databases for articles related to AFOs and CP from 2010 through July 2024 yielded 558 records; 64 were full-text articles using AFOs designed to be rigid, published across 35 journals. Nine reported all three parameters, two reported two parameters, and 21 reported one parameter.
According to the review’s authors there was limited awareness of the two key alignments and the need to individualize and optimize them for the individual, and comparison of AFO designs was often undertaken without controlling for alignments.
Inadequate reporting of the criteria limits the ability to replicate and evaluate orthotic interventions, potentially compromising treatment, the authors concluded, and improving studies’ rigor and quality could advance the field toward more effective and evidence-based interventions.
The open-access study, “Do authors and editors comply with best practice reporting guidelines for AFO interventions in studies involving children with cerebral palsy? A scoping review,” was published in the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics.
To read the guidelines, “A systematic review to determine best practice reporting guidelines for AFO interventions in studies involving children with cerebral palsy,” visit Prosthetics and Orthotics International.
