title: Efficacy of ankle-foot orthoses on gait of children with cerebral palsy: systematic review of literature.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To perform a literature review evaluating the quality of current research on the influence of ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) on gait in children with cerebral palsy (CP).
  
  
  METHODS
  A qualitative systematic review of intervention studies including the following words/phrases in the title/abstract: children with CP, AFO, gait and inferential statistical analysis, and outcomes related to gait. Databases searched included PubMed, Cochrane Library, PEDro, OTSeeker, Lilacs, and Scielo. Level of evidence was graded using the PEDro Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two between-group and 18 within-group studies met the inclusion criteria indicating a low level of evidence. Between-group studies each scored 4 on the PEDro Scale, and 17 within-group studies scored 3 and 1 scored 2, indicating low quality. Standard terminology for AFOs was not used and only 6 studies described functional status using appropriate instruments.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Studies using high quality methods are still needed to support evidence-based decisions regarding the use of AFOs for this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Escola de Educação Física, Fisioterapia e Terapia Ocupacional, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil. elyonara@ufmg.br
authors.forename: Elyonara Mello
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Figueiredo
authors.forename: Gisela Bastos
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Rodrigo César
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Maia Moreira
authors.forename: Renata Noce
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Kirkwood
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fetters
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000502:physiology; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004863:Equinus Deformity / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009989:Orthotic Devices; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome