BackgroundRoutine screening of scoliosis is a controversial subject and screening efforts vary greatly around the world.MethodsConsensus was sought among an international group of experts (seven spine surgeons and one clinical epidemiologist) using a modified Delphi approach. The consensus achieved was based on careful analysis of a recent critical review of the literature on scoliosis screening, performed using a conceptual framework of analysis focusing on five main dimensions: technical, clinical, program, cost and treatment effectiveness.FindingsA consensus was obtained in all five dimensions of analysis, resulting in 10 statements and recommendations. In summary, there is scientific evidence to support the value of scoliosis screening with respect to technical efficacy, clinical, program and treatment effectiveness, but there insufficient evidence to make a statement with respect to cost effectiveness. Scoliosis screening should be aimed at identifying suspected cases of scoliosis that will be referred for diagnostic evaluation and confirmed, or ruled out, with a clinically significant scoliosis. The scoliometer is currently the best tool available for scoliosis screening and there is moderate evidence to recommend referral with values between 5 degrees and 7 degrees. There is moderate evidence that scoliosis screening allows for detection and referral of patients at an earlier stage of the clinical course, and there is low evidence suggesting that scoliosis patients detected by screening are less likely to need surgery than those who did not have screening. There is strong evidence to support treatment by bracing.InterpretationThis information statement by an expert panel supports scoliosis screening in 4 of the 5 domains studied, using a framework of analysis which includes all of the World Health Organisation criteria for a valid screening procedure.

The purpose of this prospective observational study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Dynamic SpineCor brace for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in accordance with the standardized criteria proposed by the Scoliosis Research Society Committee on Bracing and Nonoperative Management. They proposed these guidelines to make the comparison among studies more valid and reliable. From 1993 to 2006, 493 patients were treated using the SpineCor brace. Two hundred forty-nine patients met the criteria for inclusion, and 79 patients were still actively being treated. Overall, 170 patients have a definitive outcome. All girls were premenarchal or less than 1 year postmenarchal. Assessment of brace effectiveness included (1) percentage of patients who have 5 degrees or less curve progression, and percentage of patients who have 6 degrees or more progression; (2) percentage of patients who have been recommended/undergone surgery before skeletal maturity; (3) percentage of patients with curves exceeding 45 degrees at maturity (end of treatment); and (4) Two-year follow-up beyond maturity to determine the percentage of patients who subsequently underwent surgery. Successful treatment (correction, >5 degrees, or stabilization, +/-5 degrees) was achieved in 101 (59.4%) of the 170 patients from the time of the fitting of the SpineCor brace to the point in which it was discontinued. Thirty-nine immature patients (22.9%) required surgical fusion while receiving treatment. Two (1.2%) of 170 patients had curves exceeding 45 degrees at maturity. One mature patient (2.1%) required surgery within 2 years of follow-up beyond skeletal maturity. The conclusion drawn from these findings is that the SpineCor brace is effective for the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Moreover, positive outcomes are maintained after 2 years because 45 (95.7%) of 47 patients stabilized or corrected their end of bracing Cobb angle up to 2 years after bracing. Therapeutic study-investigating the results of treatment: level II.

The SRS-22-fv showed satisfactory reliability, factorial, concurrent, and discriminant validity. This study provides scores in a significant group of healthy adolescents and demonstrates a clear gradient in response between subjects with AIS, NCSS, and controls.

This is a clinical radiographic study, spanning over three decades, analyzing the three-dimensional (3-D) changes in spine geometry after corrective surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) using four generations of instrumentation systems. The objective of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the evolution of spinal instrumentation over time by measuring the 3-D changes of spinal shape before and after surgical correction of subjects with AIS using Harrington/Harrington-Luque (H/HL) instrumentation, original and recent generations of Cotrel-Dubousset Instrumentation (CDI) with rod rotation maneuvers, as well as third generation systems using thoracic pedicle screws and direct vertebral derotation (DVD) manoeuver in order to determine if the claims for improved 3-D correction from generation to next generation could be substantiated. The 3-D shape of the thoracic and lumbar spine was recorded from a pair of standing radiographs using a novel 3-D reconstruction technique from uncalibrated radiographs in 128 adolescents with AIS undergoing surgery by a posterior approach. Changes in coronal Cobb angles, kyphosis, lordosis, as well as in a series of 3-D parameters computed from the spine reconstructions before and after surgery were used to compare the four groups. Results demonstrate statistically significant differences (P = 0.05) between generations with regards to the correction of the coronal Cobb angle, and different loss of physiological lordosis. More importantly, significant differences in the 3-D correction of the spine based on the orientation of the planes of maximal curvature were observed (20/-6% H/HL vs. 39/39% CDI vs. 42/18% DVD for the thoracic/lumbar regions, respectively), confirming that recent CDI and third generation instrumentations coupled with DVD can bring the deformity significantly closer to the sagittal plane. An increased correction in apical vertebra axial rotation was observed with the DVD manoeuver (74%), while fewer notable differences were found between DVD and recent CDI systems in terms of 3-D correction. This is the first quantitative study to clearly demonstrate that the rod derotation and DVD maneuvers can significantly improve 3-D correction of scoliotic deformities, thereby supporting the transition towards these more elaborate and costly instrumentation technologies in terms of 3-D assessment.

When a brace is used to correct spinal deviation, patients may seek to ease the discomfort from the pressure exerted by the orthosis by actively recruiting specific trunk muscles. The effect of bracing on trunk electromyography (EMG) has been reported in only one study where a limited number of electrodes were placed mainly in the thoracic region. Our hypothesis was that a multielectrode mapping of the activity of the thoracic, lumbar, and abdominal trunk muscles would provide a more representative picture of the muscular reaction in response to bracing. With a larger number of E M G measuring sites, the presence of any brace-induced trunk muscle activity should be detected. Therefore, E M G signals of 11 adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients who had been undergoing Boston brace treatment for 0.7-3 years were collected during four isometric tasks to evaluate the response of trunk muscles in the minutes following the application of the brace. Twenty-two pairs of bipolar electrodes were used to measure the EMG signals of the main superficial trunk muscles during four isometric tasks. E M G signals of trunk muscles were compared in braced and unbraced conditions. Brace-induced increases in E M G activity were significant in 43% of the individual measurements and in three of the four tasks for the group mean values. Increases were greater in the lumbar area, especially on the convex side of the secondary (lumbar) curve. These results thus suggest that immediately following the application of the brace, significant muscular responses can be observed in some patients.