title: School screening for scoliosis: cohort study of clinical course.
abstract: A visual examination of 1764 Oxford schoolchildren for scoliosis was followed by low-dose radiography of the spine in those who showed evidence of asymmetric body topography; radiography was repeated a year later to assess progression. Forty-four children had curves of 10 degrees or more. Two had a congenital abnormality and the remaining 42 were classified according to the type of curve: sacral tilt (compensatory), spinal (idiopathic), or combined (sacral tilt and spinal). Progression occurred in 6 (14%) children, none of whom had only a sacral tilt. These results suggest that only by measuring sacral tilt can benign compensatory curves be differentiated from true idiopathic scoliosis.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D004739:England; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D011859:Radiography; D012574:Schools; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D013131:Spine / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging