Department of Orthopedics, Regina Montis Regalis Hospital, 12084 Mondovì, Italy.
Department of Orthopedics, Lenval University Children’s Hospital, 06200 Nice, France.
Laboratoire Motricité Humaine Expertise Sport Santé, Unité de Formation et Recherche Sciences et Techniques des Activités Physiques et Sportives, 06205 Nice, France.
Abstract Pediatric foot deformities are a common finding, concerning up to 44% of preschool aged children. The absence of accepted international guidelines, as well as heterogeneity in definitions and measurements, makes management of pediatric flatfoot a challenge, and decisions surrounding specialized care referral confusing and biased. The objective of this narrative review is to provide guidance to primary care physicians treating these patients. A non-systematic review of the literature regarding the development, etiology, and clinical and radiographic assessment of flatfeet using the PubMed and Cochrane Library databases was performed. The exclusion criteria for the review were adult populations, papers detailing the outcome of a specific surgical procedure, and publications prior to 2001. The included articles showed great heterogeneity in definition and proposed management, which makes the study of pediatric flatfoot challenging. Flatfoot is a common finding in children under 10 years old, and should not be considered pathological unless stiffness or functional limitation are present. Surgical referral should be reserved to children with stiff or painful flatfoot, while simple observation is indicated for flexible, asymptomatic flatfeet.
Citation
Vergillos Luna, Manuel & Khal, Adyb & Milliken, Kara & Solla, Federico & Rampal, Virginie. (2023). Pediatric Flatfoot: Is There a Need for Surgical Referral?. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 12. 3809. 10.3390/jcm12113809.
