A study published in the June 1 issue of the journal Spine attempts to identify an early detectable severity index for progressive adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). 

The authors followed 65 adolescent patients with mild AIS (Cobb Angle between 10° and 20°) from first examination to treatment decision, with 26 patients considered stable at the end of growth and 39 patients planning to use a brace due to progression. The authors used 3D quantitative description of scoliosis curves based on calibrated biplanar radiographs and compared them against 30 severe scoliosis curves (Cobb Angle >35°), 17 scoliosis curves before bracing (Cobb Angle >29°) and 53 spines of nonscoliosis participants. They performed a predictive discriminant analysis to assess similarity of mild scoliosis curves either to those of scoliosis or nonscoliosis spines, yielding a severity index at first examination, which was compared with clinical outcome. They found that 53 of 65 predictions (82 percent) were in agreement with actual clinical outcome, and 89 percent of curves predicted to be progressive proved accurate. Learn more...