Experience with the Management of 2599 Cases of Congenital Muscular Torticollis and a Multicenter Epidemiological Investigation in 17 Hospitals in China

Background: Congenital muscular torticollis (CMT) is a common musculoskeletal disease affecting infants and young children. Summarizing the treatment options for CMT will aid in promoting a standardized treatment for CMT. Methods: The general clinical and ultrasonographic data of children with CMT who received a three-step standardized treatment plan at our hospital from 2004 to 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Children with CMT were grouped according to the characteristics of ultrasound examination and treatment outcomes. General clinical information, treatment, and ultrasound examination data of children in each group were compared. Additionally, electronic medical records of patients admitted due to CMT in 17 tertiary children’s hospitals of China’s Futang Research Center of Pediatric Development (FRCPD) from 2015 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Data on sex, age, year of admission and discharge, and treatment cost during hospitalization were extracted from the first medical record pages according to the ICD codes. Results: Three types of CMT were defined based on sternocleidomastoid muscle ultrasound examination characteristics: local mass, uniform thickening, and atrophy. From 2015 to 2020, the 5-year average age at surgery for CMT in 17 tertiary children’s hospitals of the FRCPD was 50 months. Overall, 663 children with CMT were 1–2 years of age, accounting for the largest proportion (28.3%). Conclusions: Early diagnosis and treatment are essential to improve the conservative treatment success rate and achieve good prognosis in children with CMT. Our research team’s three-step standardized treatment plan has a high conservative treatment success rate and may facilitate the achievement of better prognosis.