Objective: To measure the force required for correcting pectus carinatum to the desired position and investigate the correlations of the required force with patients' gender, age, deformity type, severity and body mass index (BMI).
Methods: A total of 125 patients with pectus carinatum were enrolled in the study from August 2013 to August 2016. Their gender, age, deformity type, severity and BMI were recorded. A chest wall compressor was used to measure the force required for correcting the chest wall deformity. Multivariate linear regression was used for data analysis.
Results: Among the 125 patients, 112 were males and 13 were females. Their mean age was 13.7±1.5 years old, mean Haller index was 2.1±0.2, and mean BMI was 17.4±1.8 kg/m2. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the desirable force for correcting chest wall deformity was not correlated with gender and deformity type, but positively correlated with age and BMI and negatively correlated with Haller index.
Conclusions: The desirable force measured for correcting chest wall deformities of patients with pectus carinatum positively correlates with age and BMI and negatively correlates with Haller index. The study provides valuable information for future improvement of implanted bar, bar fixation technique, and personalized surgery.
Type of study: Retrospective study.
Level of evidence: Level 3-4.
Keywords: Analysis; Force measurement; Minimally invasive surgery; Multivariate; Pectus carinatum.
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