Alternate In-Brace and Out-of-Brace Radiographs Are Recommended to Assess Brace Fitting and Curve Progression With Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Follow-Up. Issue 5 (June 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kawasaki, Sachiko; Cheung, Prudence Wing Hang; Shigematsu, Hideki; Tanaka, Masato; Suga, Yuma; Yamamoto, Yusuke; Tanaka, Yasuhito; Cheung, Jason Pui Yin
• Is Part Of: Global spine journal. Volume 13:Issue 5(2023)
• Page Start: 1332
• Page End: 1341
• Publication Date: 2023-06
• Subjects: adolescent idiopathic scoliosis -- brace -- radiographs -- curve progression; Spine -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Spine -- Diseases -- Treatment -- Periodicals; Spine -- Abnormalities -- Periodicals; Spine -- Surgery -- Periodicals; 616.73
• DOI: 10.1177/21925682211032559
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2192-5682

Abstract

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Objective: To determine the prevalence of missed curve progression in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) undergoing brace treatment with only in-brace follow-up radiographs, and to provide recommendations on when in-brace and out-of-brace should be obtained during follow-up. Methods: 133 patients who had documented clinically significant curve progression during brace treatment or only when an out-of-brace radiograph were studied. Of these, 95 patients (71.4%) had curve progression noted on in-brace radiographs while 38 patients (28.6%) showed curve progression only after brace removal. We analyzed differences in age, sex, curve types, Risser stage, months after menarche, standing out-of-brace Cobb angle, correction rate, and flexibility rate between the groups. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine factors contributing to curve progression missed during brace treatment. Results: There were no differences in initial Cobb angle between out-of-brace and in-brace deterioration groups. However, the correction rate was higher (32.7% vs 25.0%; P = .004) in the in-brace deterioration group as compared to the out-of-brace deterioration group. A lower correction rate was more likely to result in out-of-brace deterioration (OR 0.970; P = .019). For thoracic curves, higher flexibility in the curves was more likely to result in out-of-brace deterioration (OR 1.055; P = .045). For double/triple curves, patients with in-brace deterioration had higher correction rate (OR 0.944; P = .034). Conclusions: Patients may develop curve progression despite good correction on in-brace radiographs. Those with higher flexibility and suboptimal brace fitting are at-risk. In-brace and out-of-brace radiographs should be taken alternately for brace treatment follow-up.