Predictive validity of the GOSLON Yardstick index in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate: A systematic
Cindy Buj-Acosta1, Vanessa Paredes-Gallardo1, José María Montiel-Company2
1Orthodontics Teaching Unit, Department of Dental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
Insights
The GOSLON Yardstick index, used for unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) treatment, shows limited predictive validity for jaw growth. Further research is needed to validate its effectiveness in children with UCLP.
Area of Science:
- Craniofacial surgery
- Pediatric dentistry
- Orthodontics
Background:
- The GOSLON Yardstick is widely used to assess treatment outcomes in unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) patients.
- Outcomes in UCLP are closely related to jaw growth, making accurate measurement crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and validate the predictive accuracy of the GOSLON Yardstick for jaw growth in UCLP patients.
- To assess the current evidence supporting the GOSLON Yardstick's predictability in UCLP treatment outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A systematic literature review was performed across Medline, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Embase databases.
- Manual searches and grey literature searches were conducted to identify all relevant studies.
- Inclusion criteria were applied to filter 131 initially identified articles down to three relevant studies.
Main Results:
- The predictive validity of the GOSLON Yardstick ranged from 42.2% to 64.7% in the reviewed studies.
- This indicates a moderate to low level of accuracy in predicting jaw growth outcomes.
- A significant lack of robust evidence was found regarding the index's predictive capabilities.
Conclusions:
- The current evidence suggests the GOSLON Yardstick has limited predictive validity for jaw growth in UCLP patients.
- There is a need for more high-quality research to establish reliable growth prediction methods for UCLP.
- The findings highlight potential limitations in using the GOSLON Yardstick for treatment efficacy assessment in this population.
Abstract:
Among the various indices developed for measuring the results of treatment in patients born with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP), the GOSLON Yardstick index is the most widely used to assess the efficacy of treatment and treatment outcomes, which in UCLP cases are closely linked to jaw growth. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review to validate the predictability of growth using the GOSLON Yardstick in patients born with UCLP. A systematic literature review was conducted in four Internet databases: Medline, Cochrane Library, Scopus and Embase, complemented by a manual search and a further search in the databases of the leading journals that focus on this topic. An electronic search was also conducted among grey literature. The search identified a total of 131 articles. Duplicated articles were excluded and after reading titles and abstracts, any articles not related to the research objective were excluded, leaving a total of 21 texts. After reading the complete text, only three articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The results showed a predictive validity of between 42.2% and 64.7%, which points to a lack of evidence in the literature for the predictive validity of the GOSLON Yardstick index used in children born with UCLP.
