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Bloorview Research Institute

Scientist Profiles

Name: Unni Narayanan

Image of Unni Narayanan

Title: Scientist

Theme: Evaluation of Practice

Education: M.B.B.S., Madras Medical College, University of Madras, India
Orthopaedic Surgery (Residency): University of Minnesota
Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery (Fellowship): The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto
MSc, Clinical Epidemiology, University of Toronto

University Position:
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto

Research Interests:  

  • Understanding the priorities and preferences of children with disabilities and their parents
  • Development and validation of meaningful patient/parent reported outcome measures for children with neuro-developmental disabilities
    • CPCHILD© Questionnaire
    • GOAL©  Questionnaire
  • Clinical trials to determine effectiveness of health technology and interventions in children with chronic disabilities
    • Impact of Gait Analysis on Outcomes of Orthopaedic Surgery for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Website: The Caregiver Priorities and Child Health Index of Life with Disabilities (CPCHILD)

Selected Peer-Reviewed Journal Publications: 
Schutte LM, Narayanan UG, Stout JL, Selber P, Gage JR, Schwartz MH: An index for quantifying deviations from normal gait. Gait and Posture 2000: 11(1): pp 25-31.

Narayanan UG, Howard A: A systematic review of Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy in the management of spastic cerebral palsy: a meta-analysis. Protocol. The Cochrane Library 2001: Issue 4.

Narayanan UG, Fehlings D, Weir S, Knights S, Kiran S, Campbell K: Caregiver Priorities & Child Health Index of Life with Disabilities (CPCHILD©): Initial development and validation of an outcome measure of health status and well-being in children with severe cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 2006, 48: 804-812.

Narayanan UG: The Role of Gait Analysis in the Orthopaedic Management of Ambulatory Cerebral Palsy. Current Opinion in Pediatrics 2007, 19:38-43.

Donaldson S, Hedden D, Stephens D, Alman B, Howard A, Narayanan UG, Wright JG: Surgeon Reliability in Rating Physical Deformity in Adolescent idiopathic Scoliosis.  Spine 2007: 32(3): pp 363-7.

Gong GWK, Barrera M, Bayene J, Bhat S, Carcao M, Lord S, Narayanan UG, Sung L, Young NL, Feldman BM: The Gap Study (GapS) Interview - Developing a process to determine the meaning and determinants of quality of life in children with arthritis and rheumatic disease.  Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2007: 25(3): pp 486-93.

Boutis K, Willan AR, Babyn P, Narayanan UG, Alman B, Schuh S: A randomized controlled trial of removable brace versus casting for in children with low-risk ankle fractures.  Pediatrics 2007: 119(6): pp 1256-63.

Donaldson S, Stephens D, Howard A, Alman B, Narayanan UG, Wright JG: Surgical decision making in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.  Spine 2007: 32(14): pp 1526-32.

Hamdy RC, Montpetit K, Ruck-Gibis J, Thorstad K, Raney E, Aiona M, Platt R, Finley A, Mackenzie W, McCarthy J, Narayanan U. Safety and efficacy of botox injection in alleviating post-operative pain and improving quality of life in lower extremity limb lengthening and deformity correction. Trials. 2007 Sep 28;8:27.

Wright JG, Yandow S, Donaldson S, Marley L; Simple Bone Cyst Trial Group: A randomized clinical trial comparing intralesional bone marrow and steroid injections for simple bone cysts.  Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American) 2008: 90(4): pp 722-30.

Castillo H, Samson-Fang L, Wiart L, Vogtle L, Darrah J, Michaels M, Hickman R, McLaughlin J, Logan J, Msall M, Hoon A, Walker W, Narayanan UG: Effects of Bisphosphonates in Children with Osteogenesis Imperfecta: an AACPDM Systematic Review.  Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 2009: 51(1): pp 17-29.

anicki J, Narayanan UG, Harvey B, Roy A, Weir S, Wright JG: Comparison of Surgeon and Physiotherapist Directed Management of Idiopathic Clubfeet Using the Ponseti Method.  Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American) 2009: 91(5): pp 1101-1108.

Janicki J, Narayanan UG, Harvey B, Roy A, Ramseier L, Wright JG: Treatment of Neuromuscular and Syndrome Associated (Non-Idiopathic) Clubfeet with the Ponseti Method.  Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics 2009: 29 (4): pp 393-397.

Montpetit K, Hamdy RC, Dahan-Oliel N, Zhang X, Narayanan UG: Measurement of health-related quality of life in children undergoing external fixator treatment for lower limb deformities.  Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics 2009: 29 (8): pp 920-6.

Janicki JA, Wright JG, Weir S, Narayanan UG. A comparison of ankle foot orthoses with foot abduction orthoses to prevent recurrence following correction of idiopathic clubfoot by the Ponseti method. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2011 May;93(5):700-4.

Narayanan UG. Botulinum toxin: does the black box warning justify change in practice? Dev   Med Child Neurol. 2011 Feb;53(2):101-2.

Bagley AM, Gorton GE, Bjornson K, Bevans K, Stout JL, Narayanan U, Tucker CA. Factor- and item-level analyses of the 38-item activities scale for kids-performance. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2011 Feb;53(2):161-6.

Contact Information:
Bloorview Research Institute,
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
150 Kilgour Road
Toronto, Ontario M4G 1R8

Tel: 416-425-6220, extension 3823

E-mail: unni.narayanan at sickkids dot ca

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