Hospital de Clínicas is a pioneer in the Northern region with a course on thermoplastic orthoses
The unprecedented training brings innovation to the care of pediatric patients at HC and aims to provide more precise, safe, and humanized assistance to children who need specialized support
The Gaspar Vianna Clinical Hospital (HC) in Belém held on Friday (19) the first training course on thermoplastic orthoses aimed at occupational therapy professionals who care for neonatal and pediatric patients in a public institution in the Northern region. The initiative seeks to qualify assistance, promoting comprehensive care and contributing to the prevention of complications that can compromise the quality of life of children.
Orthoses are devices applied externally to the body to prevent deformities, protect joints, and reduce the shortening of muscles and tendons. In pediatrics and neonatology, this resource is essential to avoid early stiffening and preserve sensory-motor functions, favoring rehabilitation from the first months of life.
According to occupational therapist Karoline Rodrigues, the course represents a significant advancement for the hospital. “It allows our professionals to learn to use a material with greater technical viability, adapted to the needs of the pediatric population in the ICU,” she explains.
Currently, the Occupational Therapy Service uses PVC, a synthetic plastic widely used in various applications due to its durability and versatility, being more accessible and cost-effective, which has already ensured good responses from patients. However, despite its effectiveness, PVC has limitations for the neonatal and pediatric population, reinforcing the need to adopt more suitable materials, such as thermoplastic, which allows for personalized adjustments directly on the child's body.
The invited speaker, Hellen Delchova Rabelo, an occupational therapist with nine years of experience in neonatology, highlighted the impact of the initiative: “The course aims to train the entire team of the Neonatal and Pediatric ICUs, ensuring that the material is incorporated into the hospital's care practice. This promotes early rehabilitation and prevents complications that could compromise the quality of life of these children,” she stated.
Hellen also emphasizes the importance of providing this early rehabilitation for babies, which impacts the life of the patient in the medium, short, and long term.
“Rehabilitation provides quality of life; it is a child who will be able to play better in the future, it is a mother who will have less difficulty managing this child in daily life, often due to hypertonia, muscle shortening, so the repercussions of this work we do with babies and children are fundamental within the SUS, precisely because it provides more quality of life for these patients,” she asserts.
Occupational therapist Carla Adriana Vieira, from the multidisciplinary team of the Pediatric ICU, reinforced the importance of learning: “This improvement will not only be for me but for the entire therapeutic process within the unit. The material allows for faster and more durable fabrications, bringing direct benefits to our patients.”
To ensure the continuity of the use of the technology, HC also invested in permanent materials, such as scissors and molding equipment, which will remain in the service. The thermoplastic sheets, which are continuously consumed, have been incorporated into the annual planning of the Occupational Therapy sector, ensuring the maintenance of the practice in the care routine.
Text: Kelly Barros (Ascom HC)
