Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Clubfoot is one of the most common congenital deformities affecting the musculoskeletal system. The main conservative treatment for clubfoot includes the Ponseti's and Kite's methods. This study aimed to perform a comparative evaluation of the effectiveness of the Ponseti and Kite approaches for the conservative treatment of clubfoot. METHODS: One hundred children with clubfoot abnormality, visiting the Martagão Gesteira Hospital, were divided in two groups. The first group received conservative treatment using the Kite method and the second group received conservative treatment using the Ponseti method. At the end of the treatment, both groups were evaluated based on the Pirani classification to verify whether there had been an adequate correction of the deformity. The variables studied included correction of deformity, age, sex, and laterality. RESULTS: The effectiveness of the Kite and Ponseti methods of conservative treatment showed significant statistical differences. CONCLUSION: The present study shows that the efficacy of conservative treatment using the Ponseti method was 18% higher than that of the Kite method. Level of evidence II, randomized clinical trial.