Changes in the Management of Clubfoot Cases During COVID-19 Pandemic—A Survey Among Orthopaedic Specialists

PURPOSE: The on-going COVID-19 pandemic has curtailed the established practice norms of many ailments including clubfoot. We conducted a survey to study the changes in the clubfoot treatment practices, Achilles tenotomy methods, and the role along with the possible impact of teleconsultation during this pandemic. METHODS: A web-based survey was conducted using a questionnaire prepared on Google forms. The link for this questionnaire was sent to Indian Orthopaedic specialists with a special interest in clubfoot management via a social messaging platform. RESULTS: 127 eligible responses were analysed. Of them, 67% respondents were in practice for more than 10 years. During the study period, 30.7% of doctors did not perform any casting; 66.9% performed casting in 1–5 cases per week and only 2.4% performed casting in more than five cases per week. A statistically significant difference was noted in the number of doctors who performed casting in less than five cases per week and the doctors who performed casting in more than five cases per week, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. 30.7% of doctors deferred doing Achilles tenotomy during the study period, and among those who performed one, a significant number of them avoided tenotomy under general anaesthesia. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted clubfoot treatment practices during the lockdown period in India. Significant reductions in the number of cases, and a reduction with changes in Achilles tenotomy practices were noted too. However, whether this had any adverse influence on the eventual outcome in these feet is yet to be determined. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s43465-020-00277-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.