Research Bursary Program
Supervisor Project Proposal (Summer 2014)
Supervisor Last Name: EMIL
Supervisor First Name: Sherif
McGill Dept/School: Department of Pediatric Surgery; Faculty of Medicine
Faculty Professor (Full, Associate or Assistant): Associate
Email: Sherif.Emil@McGill.ca
Phone No. (optional): 514 412 4497
Research Field: Pediatric Surgery-Chest Wall Anomalies
Proposal No. (1 or 2): 1
Research Location (McGill or affiliated institution): Shriners Hospital
Ethics approval will be required for proposed project (Yes/No): Yes – already granted
Proposed project will involve chart reviews (Yes/No): Yes
Project Title (maximum 1 line): Bracing Therapy for Pectus Carinatum: Determinants of Success
Hypothesis/Question to be Addressed (maximum 4 lines): Pectus Carinatum (PC) is a chest wall anomaly that has
traditionally been treated by the Ravitch operation, an invasive surgical procedure. During the last decade, a shift
has occurred towards treatment of this problem by orthotic bracing. We have published previous data showing
that bracing has become the favored therapeutic choice among Canadian pediatric surgeons. Our service
currently runs the only multidisciplinary chest wall anomalies clinic in Canada, where bracing for PC constitutes
approximately 50% of the clinic’s activities. The knowledge gap that still remains is how to prognosticate the
duration and success of treatment during first and serial assessments.
Specific Aims (maximum 10 lines): Successful treatment of PC will be defined as complete resolution of the PC as
defined by patient and physician and documented by pre and post treatment photographs. The specific aims of
the study will be:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Determine the actual prevalence of PC in the chest wall anomaly multidisciplinary clinic.
Determine the proportion of patients with PC treated by bracing.
Determine the degree of patient compliance with bracing.
Determine the overall success rate and duration of treatment (mean, median)
Determine the reasons for treatment of PC by other alternatives (observation, minimally invasive surgery,
Ravitch procedure, etc)
6. Determine how pressure of initial correction influences duration of treatment and success.
7. Determine how incremental changes in pressure of correction influence duration of treatment and
success.
Role of Student (maximum 15 lines):
The student will assume the main investigator role in this study, under the mentorship of the principal
investigator. The student will be expected to be the presenter of any abstracts produced by the study, as well as
the first author of any manuscripts. Specific roles will include.
1.
Attendance of the biweekly chest wall anomaly clinic to become familiar with PC and its treatment.
2.
Data extraction from approximately 100 medical charts of patients with PC.
3.
Appropriate data entry into statistical software.
4.
Data analysis to achieve the aims above.
5.
Formulation of an abstract to report the results and conclusions of the study.
6.
Writing a manuscript to report the results and conclusions of the study, in the context of existing
knowledge on bracing for PC.