Discuss vosoritide therapy with the parents of a child with achondroplasia — OSCE

OSCE communication and shared decision-making station: explaining vosoritide therapy for achondroplasia in plain language, setting realistic expectations about growth, balancing the daily injection burden against the benefit, integrating the therapy with the broader surveillance plan, and supporting parents through a decision that shapes their child's trajectory.

osce communication and shared decision-making2 min readVerification in progress

Prompt

The parents of a two-year-old girl with achondroplasia attend to discuss whether she should start vosoritide. They have read conflicting information online — some sources promise near-normal adult height, others warn of daily injections and uncertain long-term effects. They are anxious about causing her pain, about over-medicalising her childhood, and about making the wrong choice. Counsel them and support a shared decision.

Candidate brief

You are the paediatric registrar in the skeletal dysplasia clinic. The task is to explain vosoritide therapy to the parents of a two-year-old with achondroplasia in plain language, convey honestly what the treatment can and cannot achieve, weigh the daily injection burden against the growth benefit, and integrate the decision with the broader surveillance plan — all while acknowledging the parents' anxiety and supporting a shared decision rather than pressuring them. The consultation is ten minutes. [1] [2]

Paediatrics Fellowship Pro

You have read the opening of this case. The complete unit — every section and its primary-source references — is part of the Paediatrics Fellowship fellowship atlas.

References4Show ledger

[1]Pauli RM. Achondroplasia: a comprehensive clinical review. Orphanet J Rare Dis, 2019.PMID 30606190
[2]Savarirayan R, Tofts L, Irving M, et al. Once-daily, subcutaneous vosoritide therapy in children with achondroplasia: a randomised, double-blind, phase 3, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial. Lancet, 2020.PMID 32891212
[3]Kim HY, Ko JM. Clinical management and emerging therapies of FGFR3-related skeletal dysplasia in childhood. Ann Pediatr Endocrinol Metab, 2022.PMID 35793999
[4]Horton WA, Hall JG, Hecht JT. Achondroplasia. Lancet, 2007.PMID 17630040