A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1included 4 studies with a total of 149 subjects. Two studies (n=26) assessed the effect of night splinting in children and adults with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A. There were no statistically or clinically significant differences between wearing a night splint and not wearing a night splint. One study assessed the efficacy of prednisone treatment in 103 boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. While a daily dose of prednisone at 0.75 mg/kg/day resulted in significant improvements in some strength and function parameters compared with placebo, there was no significant difference in ankle range of motion between groups. Increasing the prednisone dose to 1.5 mg/kg/day had no significant effect on ankle range of motion. One study evaluated early surgery in 20 young boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Surgery resulted in increased ankle dorsiflexion range at 12 months but functional outcomes favoured the control group. By 24 months, many boys in the surgical group experienced a relapse of achilles tendon contractures.
Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by study quality (inadequate or unclear allocation concealment), by inconsistency (heterogeneity in patient condition and outcomes), and by imprecise results (few patients and wide confidence intervals).
Primary/Secondary Keywords