Juvenile-onset scoliosis followed up to adulthood: orthopaedic and functional outcomes

Abstract

This retrospective review describes 52 children with juvenile-onset scoliosis followed up for at least 2 years after skeletal maturity and completion of treatment. The purpose was to compare clinical and radiographic characteristics and curve progression, as well as orthopaedic, functional, and psychosocial outcomes in children treated by observation, bracing, or surgery. Seventeen percent of patients were treated with observation and 33% with bracing; and 50% required surgery. Median rib-vertebral angle difference and mean level of apical vertebra differed by treatment group. Neither brace nor surgical treatment negatively affected self-esteem. Results suggest that juvenile scoliosis is more likely to progress, less likely to respond to bracing, and more likely to require surgical treatment than adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.