ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2026
Clinical outcomes of subtalar arthroereisis in pediatric flatfoot with or without spring ligament repair.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSubtalar arthroereisis (STA) is a commonly used surgical approach for treating pediatric flatfoot. It remains unclear whether STA combined with spring ligament repair surgery is necessary. The purpose of this study was to report the clinical outcomes of STA with or without spring ligament repair and to investigate the impact of spring ligament repair as an adjunctive procedure on treatment outcomes.
methodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 58 patients with pediatric flatfoot admitted to our inpatient center from January 2018 to February 2023. Among them, 25 cases (25 feet) were treated with spring ligament repair combined with STA ((observation group), while 33 cases (33 feet) received STA (control group). Visual analog scale (VAS) scores, American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) midfoot scores, complications, patient-reported satisfaction, and imaging results (meary angle in the weightbearing lateral view, pitch angle in the weightbearing lateral view, and talonavicular coverage angle in the weightbearing anteroposterior view) were used to describe outcomes.
resultsA total of 58 patients were included in the study, with 33 assigned to the subtalar arthroereisis (STA) group and 25 undergoing the combined procedure. Both interventions resulted in clinically meaningful improvements in pain relief and functional outcomes. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores improved to 0.12 ± 0.33 in the STA group and 0.28 ± 0.46 in the combined group, with both groups showing statistically significant reductions in pain compared to baseline values (P < .001). Similarly, American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores increased to 95.91 ± 3.02 and 94.84 ± 4.68, respectively, indicating substantial postoperative improvement (P < .001). Radiographic analysis demonstrated that the combined procedure provided superior corrective efficacy. Meary’s angle, talonavicular coverage angle, and calcaneal pitch angle all exhibited significantly greater improvements in the combined group compared to the STA group (all P < .05). High levels of satisfaction were also observed in both treatment groups, with rates of 78.8% and 76.0% for the STA and combined groups, respectively.
conclusionAmong the combined and STA subgroups in pediatric flatfoot, the combined subgroup demonstrated superior imaging measurements, yet similar clinical scores. We believe that the improvement from an imaging perspective is more significant and may offer greater long-term clinical benefits. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, retrospective comparative study.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.