## 3 Results
### Assessment of Treatment Effectiveness
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Variable** & **Age \textless{} Median (24 Years)** & **Age \textgreater{} Median (24 Years)** & **MD (95\% CI)** & \(p\) \\ \hline Therapy effectiveness [0–10] & 9.42 \(\pm\) 0.77 & 8.75 \(\pm\) 0.97 & 0.67 (0.10; 1.24) & 0.022 1 \\ \hline Therapy duration & & & & \\ \hline
1–1.5 month & 5 (26.3) & 2 (10.0) & - & \\ \hline
2-3 months & 6 (31.6) & 7 (35.0) & - & \\ \hline
4-5 months & 5 (26.3) & 4 (20.0) & - & 0.586 \\ \hline
6 months & 1 (5.3) & 3 (15.0) & - & \\ \hline \textgreater{}6 months & 2 (10.5) & 4 (20.0) & - & \\ \hline Number of buckles & & & & \\ \hline
1 & 4 (23.5) & 3 (18.8) & - & \\ \hline
2 & 8 (47.1) & 5 (31.2) & - & \\ \hline
3 & 3 (17.6) & 3 (18.8) & - & \\ \hline \textgreater{}3 & 2 (11.8) & 5 (31.2) & - & \\ \hline \end{tabular} Data presented as the number of observations (% of group) or the mean and standard deviation. MD—mean difference (age \textless{} median vs. age \textgreater{} median); CL—confidence interval. Comparisons of groups performed with [PERSON]’s \(t\)-test for independent groups 1 or [PERSON]’s exact test, as appropriate.  
\end{table} 
Table 7: Effectiveness of VHO-Osthold® Perfect buckle treatment against the age of patients. Figure 5: Boxplot chart presenting the distribution of therapy effectiveness assessment on a scale from 0 to 10, for the total group and depending on the age of the patient. \begin{table} \begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Variable** & **Stage 3** & **Stage 4-5** & **MD (95\% CI)** & \(p\)** \\ \hline Therapy effectiveness [0–10] & 9.50 (9.00; 10.00) & 9.00 (8.00; 10.00) & 0.50 (0.00; 1.00) & 0.358 \({}^{1}\) \\ \hline Therapy duration & & & & \\ \hline
1–1.5 month & 5 (50.0) & 2 (13.3) & - & \\ \hline
2–3 months & 3 (30.0) & 7 (46.7) & - & \\ \hline
4–5 months & 1 (10.0) & 5 (33.3) & - & 0.193 \\ \hline
6 months & 1 (10.0) & 1 (6.7) & - & \\ \hline \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{\(>\)6 months} & & - \\ \hline Number of buckles & & & \\ \hline
1 & 5 (62.5) & 2 (14.3) & - & \\ \hline
2 & 2 (25.0) & 8 (57.1) & - & \\ \hline
3 & 0 (0.0) & 3 (21.4) & - & \\ \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{\(>\)3} & 1 (12.5) & 1 (7.1) & - \\ \hline \end{tabular} 
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Variable** & **Stage 3** & **Stage 4-5** & **MD (95\% CI)** & \(p\)** \\ \hline Therapy effectiveness [0–10] & 9.50 (9.00; 10.00) & 9.00 (8.00; 10.00) & 0.50 (0.00; 1.00) & 0.358 \({}^{1}\) \\  
Figure 6: Clinical picture of the nail apparatus on a 13-year-old girl. The 4a stage of ingrowth according to [PERSON]. Duration of the disease: 1 year. Cause of ingrowth: hyperhidrosis and improper nail trimming. Condition before therapy and after the first brace application (**a**). Three VHO-Osthold® Perfect buckles were applied and the therapeutic effect was achieved after 4 months (**b**). Source: own archives. Figure 7: A 13-year-old boy. 4b stage of ingrowth according to [PERSON]. Duration of the disease: 3 years. The patient has had two total nail resections with a surgeon, and the patient also does not exclude the possibility that he may have inadequately shortened the nail plate. To date, there has been no supportive treatment for ingrown nails. Severe hyperhidrosis of the feet (**a**). Two buckles each were applied to both nails of the big toe. Therapeutic effect after 2 months (**b**). Source: own archives. Figure 8: A 41-year-old man. The 4b stage of ingrowth according to [PERSON]. Duration of disease: 1 year. Cause of ingrowth: hyperhidrosis, work shoes, and own interference. Applied two VHO-Osthold® Perfect buckles (**a**); effect of 3 months’ therapy (**b**). Source: own archives.