Flat footedness as a marker of systemic connective tissue and cardiac involvement in young patients with Marfanoid habitus

Aim. To assess the potential of plantography indices in the diagnostics of flat
footedness, as a manifestation of Marfanoid habitus, systemic connective
tissue involvement (SCTI), and cardiac involvement.

Material and methods. In total, 50 young patients (mean age 22,5±2,1 years) were examined. In some participants, Marfanoid habitus and/or signs of SCTI were registered. All patients underwent phenotypic examination, polyposition echocardiography, and plantography (Scan complex). The predictive potential of the visual method and plantography indices (PI) for flat footedness diagnostics in individuals with Marfanoid habitus and SCTI was assessed. The correlation between minor cardiac abnormalities and PI was also examined.

Results. The visual method was inadequately specific in the SCTI diagnostics, while
PI were highly specific in diagnosing SCTI and Marfanoid habitus. Moreover, there
was a strong correlation between the number of pathologic PI and the number of
minor cardiac abnormalities, as well as an inverse correlation between PI and
ejection fraction.

Conclusion. The visual method is highly sensitive, but inadequately specific in the
diagnostics of SCTI and Marfanoid habitus, while PI are highly specific. The strong
correlation between PI and minor cardiac abnormalities suggests that flat footedness
could be regarded as an additional marker of cardiac extracellular matrix pathology in
hereditary syndromes with Marfanoid phenotype.

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