Effect of bracing on the quality of life of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.
BACKGROUND
There is considerable controversy regarding the effectiveness of bracing for patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Furthermore, little work has focused on the effect of formal bracing on the health-related quality of life (QOL) of affected adolescents.


OBJECTIVE
This study is an attempt to assess the QOL of adolescents with AIS who were treated with a brace in comparison to those who were not.


METHODS
This is a questionnaire-based study of patients presenting to our institution for evaluation and treatment of AIS. The study was conducted at Columbia University and the New York Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY.


METHODS
A total of 136 patients with AIS who were being observed and 78 patients who were braced were included in this study.


METHODS
The Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ) and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument (PODCI) were administered to 214 parents of adolescents undergoing evaluation for AIS.


METHODS
Parents of AIS patients were administered the CHQ and PODCI to assess their child's QOL. Independent samples t tests were conducted to compare the QOL among braced versus observed patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine the effect of gender, age, curvature and treatment type on QOL.


RESULTS
There were few differences in QOL between braced versus observed patients, but boys tended to outscore the girls across most domains. Surprisingly, the QOL of adolescents undergoing bracing in this study was not significantly lower than age-adjusted norms.


CONCLUSIONS
Brace wearing did not decrease the QOL of adolescents, compared with their observed counterparts, in our study population.
Ugwonali
Obinwanne F
OF
New York Orthopaedic Hospital, New York Presbyterian Medical Center, 622 W. 168th Street, PH11-Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Lomas
Guillem
G
Choe
Julie C
JC
Hyman
Joshua E
JE
Lee
Francis Y
FY
Vitale
Michael G
MG
Roye
David P
DP
D000293:Adolescent; D001915:Braces; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome