Authors (including presenting author) :
Mo SK(1), Cheung HY(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Podiatry Department, Kowloon East Cluster
Introduction :
Ingrown toenail (also known as onychocryptosis) is a common and painful pathological nail condition. Initial treatment options include conservative nail wedge resection to remove the offending nail spicule(s) and nail brace application. If conservative measures fail to control the condition, partial nail avulsion with matrix phenolisation under local anesthesia would be considered as a long term treatment option. A clinical audit was conducted in 2016 to measure the outcome of the procedures performed between 2013 and 2015 in the KEC podiatry department. While a satisfactory outcome was obtained in the audit, a follow-up audit is indicated as a continual measurement of the outcome of the procedure.
Objectives :
The aims of this study are to measure the outcomes of the partial nail avulsion procedure in the KEC podiatry department for the period of 2016-2018, by the use of the Podiatric and Surgical Clinical Outcome Measurement (PASCOM) system, and to compare the results with that of the previous audit done in 2016.
Methodology :
The clinical outcomes were measured by the use of the PASCOM questionnaire, the same questionnaire used in the audit conducted in 2016. Patients who received partial nail avulsion procedure during the period either in UCH or TKOH podiatry clinic were asked to take part in the study either during the second post-operative review (4 weeks post-op) or retrospectively through phone calls.
Result & Outcome :
113 valid questionnaires were collected (46 from UCH and 67 from TKOH) for the procedures took place between 2016 to November 2018. The most frequent expectations from the procedure are ‘no recurrence’, ‘no more pain’ and ‘cure ingrown toenail’. 97.3% of the patients took part in the audit agreed the procedure outcomes have fully/partly met their expectations. 94.7% of the respondents experienced no problem after the procedure. The results are comparable to that of the previous study (94.7% agreed the expectations were met and 95.9% experienced no post-op problem). This study can provide quantitative data and act as an outcome measures for the procedure, which in turn can be used in continual measurement of the procedure in the future. Furthermore, as no major adverse effects were reported in the previous and current audit, it can be deemed that this podiatric procedure is a safe treatment option for ingrown toenail.
Co-location with:
