Effect of the bilateral Dynamic Ankle-Foot Orthosis on the spatiotemporal gait patterns of a child with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy induced by chemotherapy (CIPN) is a highly prevalent and clinically relevant sequel in the treatment of childhood cancer, impacting the patient’s functionality and also decreasing the quality of life, therefore, improvement in mobility and quality of walking are important goals during the rehabilitation process. The aim of this study was to compare the spatio-temporal gait patterns of a child with CIPN with or without the use of bilateral dynamic Ankle-Foot Orthosis. Methods: This is a descriptive case study consisting of an gait evaluation of a female patient with CIPN, 09 years old, 1.39m and 35kg. The spatio-temporal gait patterns, 6- minute walk test and Timed Up and Go test were obtained using a wireless inertial sensor system. Results: The obtained data in the 6MWT showed 160m of travelled distance, a speed of 0.55 m/s, a cadence of 94.9 steps/min and a stride length of 0.70m, compared to a travelled distance of 233.3m, a speed of 0.86 m/s, a cadence of 99.2 steps/min and a stride length of 104 m. The obtained data in the TUG test, showed that the participant used 24.37 seconds to complete the test without the orthosis and 18.54 seconds with the orthosis, changing to Semi-Independent to Independent classification, however, despite the improvement, the risk of falling was still considered high according to the values predicted by the software. Conclusion: Thus, the use of dynamic orthosis for patients with CIPN can be beneficial to improve speed, endurance and decrease the physiological cost of walking. Future studies comparing the effectiveness of dynamic orthosis in a larger number of patients are needed to elucidate the findings exposed in the present study.