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Syringomyelia in children with primary scoliosis
A Hanieh1, A Sutherland, B Foster
1Department of Neurosurgery, Women's and Children's Hospital, North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. ahanieh@medicine.adelaide.edu.au
Insights
Children with scoliosis should undergo MRI scans to detect syringomyelia. Treating syringomyelia, often linked to Chiari malformation, can improve or stabilize spinal curvature.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Orthopedics
- Pediatric Medicine
Background:
- Scoliosis is a common spinal deformity in children.
- The association between scoliosis and spinal cord abnormalities like syringomyelia is not fully understood.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a key diagnostic tool for spinal conditions.
Observation:
- A review of 35 children with scoliosis revealed that all underwent MRI.
- Seven children (20%) were diagnosed with syringomyelia.
- Six of the seven children with syringomyelia also had Chiari malformation.
Findings:
- Correction of syringomyelia led to improvement or stabilization of scoliosis in affected children.
- This suggests a causal or significant contributing link between syringomyelia and the development or progression of scoliosis.
- Chiari malformation appears frequently co-occurring with syringomyelia in this pediatric cohort.
Implications:
- Routine MRI screening for syringomyelia is recommended for all children presenting with primary scoliosis.
- Early diagnosis and treatment of syringomyelia may prevent or reverse spinal curvature progression.
- This approach could improve long-term outcomes for children with scoliosis and associated neurological conditions.
Abstract:
The clinical notes of 35 children presenting with scoliosis were reviewed; all 35 had been investigated with MRI. Seven were found to have syringomyelia, and six of these had Chiari malformation. Correction of the syrinx resulted in improvement or stabilisation of the spinal curvature. We recommend that all cases presenting with primary scoliosis should have MRI and should be treated if a syrinx is found.