Outcome at 10 Years after Treatment for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

Summary: The study elucidates the 10 years post-treatment status in a group of patients treated by brace (BT) or by surgery (ST) due to AIS. In the two-hundred-and-fifteen consecutive patients a generally high level of ADL with no significant difference in this or in SF-36 between the two groups were observed. Compared to the levels for healthy age-matched controls the AIS-patients were found to have only a modest reduction in SF-36 and ADL and moderately increased pain. The treatment options in AIS are brace (BT) or surgery (ST) and together with the disease itself they may both be physically and psychologically demanding. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the 10 years post-treatment outcome in a group of patients who have been treated by brace or have undergone an operation due to AIS.

Methods: Two-hundred-and-fifteen consecutive patients treated at the University Hospital of Copenhagen from 1983 to 1990 received a questionnaire at mean 9,7 (7-14) years after the last contact to the hospital. The male to female ratio was 1:9 and the mean age at follow-up was 26,0 (range 20-34) years. The main topics of the questionnaire were demographics, back pain assessed by a visual analogue scale (VAS), activity of daily living (ADL), and SF-36. The mean age in the BT group was 14,2 (range 9- 20) years at the time of bracing. The brace period was mean 2,6 (1-5) years. Among the 136 patients 113 (83%) replied. The mean age was in the ST group was 14,9 (12-21) years at the time of the operation. Among the 115 patients 99 (86%) replied.

Results: The level of back or leg pain was relatively low. We found a generally high level of ADL with no significant difference between the two groups. We found no significant difference between BTand ST-patients in the present study for any of the SF-36 variables. Compared to 408 age-matched Danish female controls we observed lower SF-36 scores in the AIS patients in all variables. The brace related questions revealed a significant impact of the disease and the treatment on the life of these patients.

Conclusions: Compared to the levels for healthy age-matched controls patients treated for AIS were found to have only a modest reduction in SF-36 and ADL and moderately increased pain with the ST patients generally at a better level than the BT.