Clinical etiological classification of scoliosis: report of 1289 cases

With the development of diagnostic techniques and in-depth understanding of lateral curvature of the spine (scoliosis), it is possible to differentiate idiopathic scoliosis from other forms with various known etiologies. The present study was to analyze data collected at the authors' center according to the current etiological spectrum and classification of scoliosis.

One thousand, two hundred and eighty-nine consecutive patients with different forms of structural scoliosis were reviewed. The average age at first visit was 18 years, ranging from 4 months to 79 years. Corrective surgery was performed on patients aged from 9 to 28 years; their clinical data were retrieved for independent statistical analyses, and further compared with those obtained from the whole group.

The prevalence of non-idiopathic scoliosis was 25.3% in the whole series, but it increased to 34% in the surgical group aged from 9 to 28 years. Thirty-nine percent of patients with congenital scoliosis presented at least one developmental spinal cord malformation.

The current study has shown that the etiological distribution of scoliosis has changed a lot from what was true decades ago. Developmental malformation related to scoliosis is one of the risk factors for neurological complications during corrective surgery, so it is important to make an accurate diagnosis and take appropriate prophylactic measures to avoid relative neurological complications.