Splinting in Congenital Hand Anomalies; A Systematic Review

Congenital hand anomalies are abnormal conditions presented at birth regardless of their cause. These abnormalities may lead to structural or functional disorders in children. The treatment of pediatric hand anomalies has been controversial, and the agreement on the gold standard for the treatment of this malformation in children has yet to be ambiguous.
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The aim of the present study was to review studies on splinting in congenital hand anomalies using ProQuest, PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE databases published from 1990 to 2023.

A total of 344 articles were found and finally, 13 articles were reviewed, of which six cases were at evidence level I (one randomized controlled trial (RCT) and five reviews), two cases were at evidence level II,  two cases were at evidence level III, one study was at evidence level IV, and two cases were at evidence level V. The methodological quality assessment of the one and five included RCTs and systematic review studies showed the moderate-to-high quality of the studies based on the scores≥5 using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) and Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) scales.

The use of a splint alone in the function of the upper limbs of children suffering from congenital hand abnormalities cannot be presented as an effective solution.. The use of splints as the first line of congenital hand anomalies in children can be useful if prescribed during infancy and in some congenital anomalies, such as thumb and radial hand. The best treatment process for children with other hand anomalies is surgery and timely prescription of a splint.