Brace treatment in juvenile idiopathic scoliosis: a prospective study with outcomes in agreement with SRS committee on bracing and nonoperative management standardization criteria

Methods A total of 1,238 individuals who were treated for JIS between 1995 and 2012 fulfilled the inclusion criteria (age between 4-10 years, full-time prescription), with 163 patients treated with progressive action short brace, Lyon brace and Milwaukee. Of these, 113 patients had a definite outcome, 27 abandoned treatment and 23 are still in treatment. The minimum duration of follow-up was 24 months. Antero-posterior radiographs were used to estimate the curve magnitude (CM) and the torsion of the apical vertebra (TA) at five points in time: beginning of treatment (t1), one year after the beginning of treatment (t2), intermediate time between t1 and t4 (t3), end of weaning (t4)and 2-year minimum follow-up from t4 (t5). Three outcomes were distinguished in agreement with Scoliosis Research Society criteria: curve correction, curve stabilization and curve progression. Moreover, results were evaluated according to compliance, dividing patients into five subgroups. Statistical analyses were performed with GraphPad Prism 6.