Pectus Excavatum / Pectus Carinatum: tratamento cirúrgico

Variation of the Anthropometric Index for pectus excavatum relative to age, race, and sex

OBJECTIVES

To determine possible variations in the Anthropometric Index for pectus excavatum relative to age, race, and sex in individuals free of thoracic wall deformities.

METHODS

Between 2002 and 2012, 166 individuals with morphologically normal thoracic walls consented to have their chests and the perimeter of the lower third of the thorax measured according to the Anthropometric Index for pectus excavatum. The participant characteristics are presented (114 men and 52 women; 118 Caucasians and 48 people of African descent).

RESULTS

Measurements of the Anthropometric Index for pectus excavatum were statistically significantly different between men and women (11-40 years old); however, no significant difference was found between Caucasians and people of African descent. For men, the index measurements were not significantly different across all of the age groups. For women, the index measurements were significantly lower for individuals aged 3 to 10 years old than for individuals aged 11 to 20 years old and 21 to 40 years old; however, no such difference was observed between women aged 11 to 20 years old and those aged 21 to 40 years old.

CONCLUSION

In the sample, significant differences were observed between women aged 11 to 40 years old and the other age groups; however, there was no difference between Caucasian and people of African descent.

Intervenção precoce da fisioterapia no péctus excavatum: dois casos clinicos em pediatria

O objetivo deste trabalho é descrever os efeitos da intervenção fisioterapêutica precoce em duas crianças com péctus excavatum (PEX), segundo a análise de parâmetros posturais e aspectos de radiografia torácica. Realizou-se um estudo de caso com duas crianças com PEX, ambas acompanhadas regularmente pela equipe de fisioterapia de um hospital universitário, sendo um dos casos do gênero feminino, com um ano e oito meses e PEX do tipo amplo na deformidade simétrica, e o segundo do gênero masculino, com PEX do tipo amplo na deformidade simétrica aguda, com dez meses de idade. O protocolo de tratamento constituiu-se de alongamentos dos músculos peitoral e serrátil, fortalecimento do músculo abdominal, manobras de pressão negativa e seguimento com orientações domiciliares. Por radiografia torácica, observou-se melhora na depressão do esterno e no padrão postural dos lactentes, sem progressão do PEX nos dois casos. Concluímos que a intervenção precoce da fisioterapia nesses dois casos pareceu retardar a evolução do PEX, minimizando as deformidades. No entanto, os efeitos dessa terapêutica precisam ser investigados com melhor qualidade metodológica, com amostras maiores e mais métodos precisos de avaliação, viabilizando evidências mais substanciais no acompanhamento fisioterapêutico do PEX infantil.

Pectus carinatum

Among the deformities of the thoracic wall,pectus carinatum has not received the same attention as has pectus excavatum. Few pulmonologists, pediatricians, and thoracic surgeons are aware of the approaches to treating this condition. As a consequence, patients with pectus carinatum are not referred for treatment. This deformity, with an incidence of 1:1000 teenagers, is oligosymptomatic. However, for aesthetic and emotional reasons, it accounts for a large number of medical appointments. Such patients are introverted and do not engage in physical activities, since they are unwilling to expose their chest, which also discourages them from going to the beach or to swimming pools. The diagnosis is clinical and visual, and details are obtained through chest X-rays and computed tomography. The treatment is based on a well-known organogram that summarizes orthopedic and surgical procedures. Dynamic compression, combined with physical exercises, is indicated for teenagers with flexible thorax in inferior and lateral pectus carinatum, with limited indication for those with superior pectus carinatum. For individuals of any age with rigid thorax, surgery is indicated for aesthetic reasons. Among the techniques described, the modified sternum chondroplasty stands out due to the excellent aesthetic results achieved.

Anthropometric index for Pectus excavatum

BACKGROUND

Pectus excavatum (PEX) is a depression of the sternum in relation to the costal cartilages. Clinical and objective measures for classifying the defect are rare and difficult to apply. The present study aimed to create an anthropometric index (AI) for PEX as a method for diagnosis and for preoperative and postoperative assessment by comparing it to the Haller index (HI) and to the lower vertebral index (LVI).

METHODS

From December 2001 to February 2004, 2 groups of patients were studied at our institution: a) 30 patients with normal configuration of the thoracic cage, upon physical examination; b) 20 patients with PEX. The latter underwent surgery according to the Ravitch technique modified by Robicsek, and they were evaluated in the postoperative period. All patients were assessed by means of the AI (clinical), HI (tomographic), and LVI (radiographic) measures at the level of deepest deformity in the case of the PEX patients, and in the distal third of the sternum in the normal patients. The patients who had undergone surgery were once again measured between the 60th and the 80th postoperative days.

RESULTS

There was a high correlation between the AI and the HI (80% P < .001) and between the AI and the LVI (79% P < .001). The accuracy of the 3 indices was similar, in that the following cut points were established: AI = 0.12, HI = 3.10, and LVI = 0.25. Upon analyzing the preoperative results, we verified that for the 3 indices, over 75% of the patients with pectus excavatum were above the cut points and were confirmed as having the defect. In the postoperative results, the value of the indices found below the cut point was considered within the normal standard, and this occurred in 100% for the AI, in over 50% for the HI, and in 50% for the LVI.

CONCLUSIONS

The AI allowed adequate measurement of the defect, maintaining a) a high correlation with the HI and the LVI and a high accuracy, similar to the already acknowledged and published indices and b) an efficient comparison between the preoperative measurement and the postoperative results.